A Father's Secret
by Shasta627
Summary: When Winn's father escapes from prison and decides to take it upon himself to rid National City of Supergirl once and for all, it's up to Winn and Kara to stop him, but during their adventure Kara begins to see Winn in a different light. Will they decide to be just friends, or be something more...? (Winn x Kara) [NOW COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

- **WINN** -

Winn Schott first met her a little over two years ago, exactly five months after he had been hired as an IT for Catco. He could remember the day vividly; it was a permanent memory fixed into his mind - a memory he could always find hope and comfort in.

Winn had been sitting at his desk, bored out of his mind, staring mindlessly at the empty seat across from him, knowing that by the end of the day it wouldn't be empty anymore. He knew that Cat Grant's new personal assistant was supposed to arrive that day, but if they were anything like the last one she had fired just the week before - old, grumpy, and bossy - he wasn't looking forward to meeting them. He already had to endure countless hours of doing whatever miscellaneous job Miss Grant threw at him - even if it wasn't in his line of work - and having a nagging assistant sitting across from him, snapping at him to stop swiveling his chair or to stop eating snacks at his desk would just make the whole job miserable.

Winn had already finished most of his job for the day, and was just counting downs the hours until his lunch break when the elevator opening caught his attention.

He swirled around in his chair to catch a glimpse of the new employee, and then suddenly felt as though his heart had stopped beating in his chest. Stepping out of the elevator was a beautiful young woman whom Winn had never seen before. She was a little shorter than him with dark blonde hair pulled back in a simple yet elegant braid, and she was wearing a straight black skirt with a white sweater that fit well on her slender frame. But the feature that caught most of Winn's attention was her eyes. Though hiding behind her plain black rimmed glasses, her large, sky blue eyes shone bright, brimming with nervousness and excitement.

 _She can't possibly be Grant's new assistant,_ Winn thought to himself, but the more he watched her the more he was sure of it: the beautiful girl was the new personal assistant of Cat Grant, and she would be sitting right across from him.

He watched her step out of the elevator and scan the room, as though she was looking for where to go. He suddenly saw an opportunity to talk to her and quickly got up and walked over to were she stood. Her eyes landed on him as he made his way toward her and she smiled - a perfect white smile with perfectly straight teeth.

"Hi - welcome to CatCo," Winn greeted, putting out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Winn Schott." She took his hand and he was surprised at how strong her grip was.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled a little shyly. "My name's Kara Danvers. I'm the new personal assistant for Cat Grant."

Winn nodded, having already figured that out for himself, but pretended to be slightly surprised. "Oh, so you're the new assistant? Well, in that case, I think you should probably meet your boss before she gets too impatient."

He led her over to Grant's office and motioned for her to walk through the glass doors separating her personal area from the rest of the building. "Good luck," he whispered as she walked by, and she turned and gave him a grateful smile. Winn felt his cheeks warm slightly but returned the smile and went back to his desk, watching through the glass windows. As soon as Kara had walked in Cat had turned around and started talking to her, and from the looks of it, it seemed as though Cat was trying to interrogate her. That was always how Cat Grant greeted her new employees - by questioning them again, like she was making sure their first interview hadn't just been a fluke. But Winn noticed how Kara stood confidently and how she held her head high, and after a few minutes Cat motioned for her to sit - which Winn knew was a good sign. He remembered his own interrogation with her only a few months earlier, and he wished it would've gone a bit better. Grant had seemed distracted throughout the whole time they talked, and sometimes Winn felt as though the only reason he got the job was because he complimented the little glass figurine of a horse she had on her desk - apparently a gift from her late grandmother.

Kara and Cat's "chat" lasted for about fifteen minutes before they both stood up, shook hands, and turned away from each other. Cat turned back to her iPad while Kara turned and exited the office, closing the glass door behind her with a soft 'click'.

"How did it go?" Winn asked from his chair, which was only a few feet away from the office. Kara looked towards him, seeming surprised to see him sitting right there. "Well...I guess it was fine..." she started but Winn cut her off.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine as long as you remember what type of coffee she likes and which papers to deliver to her, and besides, she's always intimidating on the first day." Kara nodded, giving him a small smile. "Thanks Winn."

Just hearing her say his name made him feel light and happy. "By the way, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you," she said, snapping him back to attention.

"Anything," he replied, hoping he didn't sound too eager.

"Do you think you could show me around the building, or, more importantly, to my desk?"

"I'd be happy to," he answered, feeling glad it was something he could actually do. He pointed to the desk across from him. "That's yours," he informed.

"Oh," she seemed surprised at how close it was. "Well, that was easy."

"But we aren't done yet," Winn said as he stood and motioned for her to follow him. "C'mon, I'll show you around."

The rest of the morning seemed to fly by to Winn as he showed Kara around not only the office, but all the hidden rooms and secret shortcuts as well. As he talked to her, he learned that she had lived in the suburbs of the city most of her life, and that just recently she moved into the heart of National City to find work since she just finished college. He also learned some seemingly random facts about her, like how her favorite animal was a cat and that she loved popcorn.

When it was time for their lunch break, Kara surprised him by asking if he'd like to get lunch with her. "There's this cafe just down the street that has the best food ever," she exclaimed, and Winn had to laugh at how excited she was getting over the food. Once they got there they ordered their food - a sandwich for Winn, stickybuns for Kara - and talked a bit more.

"So how long have you lived in National City?" Kara asked, already digging into her third stickybun.

"Well, I moved when I was eighteen, and I've lived here ever since," he told her, hoping it was enough information to keep her from asking more. She was starting to enter a subject he tried to avoid - talking about his past - but he especially didn't want to talk about it with her. If she knew what he had done, what his father had done, she would never talk to him again.

"What about you?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Kara swallowed the bite she was chewing and set down her fork. "Since I was twelve," she responded, but she suddenly seemed to have lost her appetite. Winn tried to read between the lines, and figured that maybe there were some things in her past she didn't want to discuss either.

Winn quickly tried to think of a topic to discuss before the silence got too awkward. "So...uh, where do you live?" he asked without thinking, and as soon as the words left his mouth he realized how stalker-ish it sounded. "No, I didn't mean it like that, I meant, like - you said you moved, and I meant to ask, I mean-" he quickly tried to explain his question but Kara's laughter stopped his rambling.

"I know what you meant," she reassured him, and gave another small laugh at his relieved expression, "and I just live in an apartment complex a few blocks away."

Winn nodded, but felt his cheeks flush slightly in embarrassment. The rest of their lunch went by with leisure conversation on safe topics such as movies or celebrities, and the two soon returned to the office. Almost immediately Kara was hailed by Cat Grant and sent on some errands, so Winn didn't get to see her for the rest of the day. He thought about waiting to see if she would come back to the office after going on her last errand or go straight home, but he didn't want her to think of him as over-eager or stalker-ish if she did come back to the office, especially not after their lunch incident, or so he thought of it as. So instead he left her a sticky note on her desk, saying: 'You're doing great for your first day! Hope you have a good rest of the evening, it was great getting to know you,' with a smiley face and his name added at the bottom. He hoped she would perceive it as friendly and not creepy.

He then left the office and caught a cab back to his apartment, reliving the days events and anticipating what tomorrow had in store. When he got out in front of his complex, he noticed a light on the sixth floor coming from one of the rooms that had been empty for almost a year. The room was right down the hall from his, and he wondered how long it had been occupied for. He mentally shrugged to himself, deciding not to be concerned about it, but as he walked down the hall to his door, he found himself face-to-face with none other than Kara Danvers.

"Winn?" she exclaimed at the same time he said, "Kara?"

Her face suddenly turned slightly pale. "Are you following me?" she asked, looking like she was preparing to make a run for it.

"No!" Winn quickly said, trying to calm her back down again. "No, I live here." He pulled out his apartment keys for proof. "That one, right down there," he said, pointing to the door at the far end of the hallway. "I live here," he clarified again, making sure she knew he wasn't trying to follow her.

"Oh," she said softly in surprise, then gave a small laugh, the one Winn had heard so many times already in just that day. "Well, earlier you asked where I live, so I guess you can get your answer now," she pointed to the door right behind her, the one that Winn had seen a light in from the parking lot - the one that had been empty for a year. "I live there," she said, as though she needed to clarify for him in case he didn't realize it from her gesturing. He nodded to let her know he understood. "What are the odds..." she said softly. "I guess it was just fate for us to meet."

Kara's words echoed in his head. Of all the people in the CatCo office, fate chose me to meet her, he realized. And she's only four doors down and a desk away, he thought, not believing his luck.

"Well," Kara drew out the word after a short pause, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at work, neighbor." She smiled and walked down the hall towards the elevator.

Winn stood rooted to the spot and watched her until the doors hissed shut and she disappeared. Then, slowly, he turned and made his way towards his room, and then dropped his laptop and book-bag on the floor, collapsing on the couch. It was only six-thirty, but he already felt tired. He still couldn't get his mind around the fact that not only did he work across from one of the nicest, prettiest girls he had ever met, but he also basically lived right next to her too.

 _Could she be the one?_ he dared to think.

Of course, he couldn't decide that right then and there. It would take a lot of time for them to get to know each other, considering how closed up they both seemed about their past. _Maybe it's best if we just start off as friends_ , he decided, feeling more confident about that idea. _Then maybe in the future, if I still have the same feelings as I do now, then maybe things can change._

Winn then went to sleep, and he couldn't help feeling like one of the luckiest people on the planet, for getting a chance to meet a girl as good as Kara, and knowing that no matter what happened in the future, he could always count on her to be his friend.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you everyone for your kind reviews and encouragement! Hope this chapter exceeds your expectations, and everyone have a good Thanksgiving! :)**_

- **KARA** -

The elevator seemed to be traveling at an excruciating slow pace to Kara Danvers. She was already late, and she knew that once she got out at the main floor, she would have to face Cat Grant, who would not be happy about getting her latte fifteen minutes behind schedule.

It wasn't _completely_ her fault about being late though. All last night Kara had been up trying to help put out a fire in an apartment complex, and once she got home she had to take numerous showers in order to get the smoke smell out of her hair, not to mention she had to fill out all the papers Cat had given her the day before for the renting of the City Hall building for one of Grant's large CatCo promotion parties.

Kara tried rehearsing a few plausible excuses in the elevator to make up for her tardiness, but as the doors silently slid open, she decided to just be honest and tell Cat that she lost track of time. Hopefully her boss would be in one of her sporadic good moods.

Stepping quickly out of the elevator, Kara dropped her purse onto her desk and hurried into Miss Grant's office.

"You're late," Cat said, barely looking up from her TV screen.

"I know, I know, and I'm really sorry, I was just busy and lost track of time and-"

Cat held up a hand to cut her off. "I don't want to hear any excuses. Just give me my coffee."

Kara didn't know whether to feel relieved or nervous. She had never seen her boss so lenient before, but decided that for now she would just count herself as lucky, and try not to let it happen again. She quickly gave Cat her coffee and turned to leave when Cat suddenly said, "Oh, and Kara, I wanted to talk to you about those conference schedules I asked you to make."

Kara felt her heart freeze inside of her chest. _The conference schedules!_ she thought, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. She had completely forgotten to draw them up, and she remembered specifically Cat saying she wanted them _today_.

How could I have forgotten? she chided herself as she slowly turned around to face Cat. I'm going to be fired for sure now, she fretted, but realized there was no way around it. So she took a deep breath and started, "About that, I..."

She trailed off, suddenly noticing what Grant had in her hands. _The conference schedules she had forgotten to do!_ "How-?" Kara started to ask, but was once again cut off by Cat as she started talking.

"I noticed that they were a slightly different format than what you usually use, but I think it'll work well. I especially like how you scheduled an extra thirty minutes for the board meeting - God knows we'll be needing it - and also the way you have it listed as most important meetings at the top, to least important at the bottom." She set the papers down on the coffee table in the middle of her office, and turned to look at Kara. "Long story short, I'm rather impressed. To be honest, I didn't actually think you could pull it off."

Kara nodded, deciding to play along for now. She still had no idea how the schedules had gotten done, because she knew _she_ didn't do them. _Did someone do them from me?_ she thought, wondering who would care about her that much to do her work for her. "Thank you, Miss Grant," she finally said. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

"Hmm, I'll have to think on that for a few minutes. You're dismissed for now," she finally responded after a few seconds. Kara nodded and turned around, but before she left she managed to get a glimpse of the schedules sitting on the table, and felt a sudden jolt of realization as she recognized whose handwriting it was. She smiled to herself, wondering how she didn't think of it sooner.

She quickly exited the office and made her way over to the desk of the person who had quite possibly just saved her job.

"Winn, you are _a life-saver!_ You truly are the best," Kara whispered as she sat down next to his desk. Winn looked up at her, a smile starting to form on his lips. "How in the _world_ did you know I forgot to do them?" Kara asked incredulously

Winn pointed to the TV above their desks, which was playing footage of the fire Kara had helped put out the night before. "Well, I knew you were busy, and when I saw them still on your desk last night, I figured you wouldn't have time to do them, so...I did them for you." He shrugged, acting like it wasn't a big deal, but to Kara it was.

"You do realize you just saved my career?" Kara asked, making sure to keep her voice low as to not be overheard.

Winn shook his head. "Nah, Cat wouldn't fire you. You've been working for her for almost two years -way longer than any of her earlier personal assistants - and also she likes you. She just doesn't show it."

Kara nodded, hoping Winn's words were true.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "But this isn't the first time you've done things like this for me, and I just feel like saying 'thank you' isn't enough," Kara told him, her mind flashing to all the late nights she had spent at the office, scrambling to get her work done, and Winn always staying with her to help, even taking some of her work back to his own place to finish. The more she thought about it, the more she realized just how much Winn had always been there to help her.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked earnestly. "Anyway I can make it up to you?"

Winn was quiet for a moment, thinking silently, before he started to say, "Well, there is one-" but was cut off by another voice.

"Hey Kara," called the tall, dark, handsome photographer, James Olsen. He came walking over and stopped next to them, holding some new photographs in his hand. "Oh, hey Winn," James then added. "Sorry, I didn't see you."

Winn shrugged. "Happens all the time," he mumbled. Kara turned to face James and couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach when he smiled at her. "And how are you holding up?" he asked, clearly referring to the fire the night before.

"Holding up? What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine," Kara tried to convince him. Did he think she was weak because it took her so long to put out the fire? She certainly hoped not.

James gave a low chuckle, and Kara felt her heart beat even faster in her chest. "Even Supergirl can get tired sometimes, Kara," he whispered. Kara gave him a meek smile.

They conversed for just a few more minutes until James's phone started to buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, looked at the screen, and then said, "I gotta take this call, so we'll have to talk later, okay?"

"Oh, yeah that's fine," Kara said, but felt a little disappointed that he had left so soon. Must've been a really important call, she thought, and she couldn't help but let the curiosity get the better of her, so she used her super-hearing to listen in on a small part of their conversation.

She soon wished she hadn't.

Lucy Lane had been the 'important' call, and from what Kara had heard, it sounded as though things were going well between them. Very well.

She knew it wasn't fair for her to be pining after James when he already had a girlfriend - who was a very nice woman for that matter - but even when she tried so hard to just forget how she felt about him, she couldn't.

 _Maybe I should try dating other people again_ , she thought, but then remembered the last blind date she went on and cringed inwardly. The online dating program had said they were an eighty percent match, but the man she went with was _not_ a match for her. Sighing, she turned back around to Winn's desk, remembering they hadn't finished their conversation, only to find him gone. Had she really been so focused on James that she didn't even notice him leave? Kara could feel the guilt settling in her stomach. She had just been telling him she wanted to repay him in some way, and how did she do it? By forgetting about him.

Kara made a silent vow to herself that she wouldn't let James distract her again, and also the next time she saw Winn, she would make it up to him - for real this time.

She didn't see Winn for the rest of the morning, but fortunately she ran into him just as she was heading downstairs for her lunch break. "Winn, wait up!" she called, and was glad that he stopped for her. "Listen, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about this morning, I totally cut you off and got distracted," she apologized. She knew Winn wouldn't hold a grudge against her - he was never mad at her - but she still would feel a while lot better knowing that she had at least apologized.

He shrugged, "It's not a big deal. Like you said, you got...distracted." The way he said the last word made Kara suddenly feel ashamed. He didn't use an accusing tone, he just sounded - disappointed.

"Well, let me make it up to you now by buying lunch," Kara said, and was rewarded with a smile from Winn. "Well, only if you insist," he replied jokingly.

"Do you have a car or do you want to take a cab?" Kara asked as they walked out of the building towards the sidewalk.

"Cab," replied Winn almost immediately. "I don't really like to drive," he explained as Kara gave him a skeptical look. But before she could ask more, there was suddenly a loud, piercing scream that came from down the block.

Kara instinctively ran towards the sound, and as she rounded the corner she saw a woman screaming and pointing at the building across from her. "The bank's getting robbed!" she screeched to the many people that had gathered around the building.

Kara quickly shoved her purse into Winn's hands and whispered, "Be right back," before she took off to change into her Supergirl outfit. Only a few seconds later she arrived and charged into the bank to find five men, all dressed in black and with guns, shoving the money as quickly as they could into large duffel bags.

"It's Supergirl!" one of them suddenly exclaimed. Two of the men closest to Kara started to open fire on her, but once they realized their bullets weren't having any effect, they dropped their guns and tried to make a break for it. Kara quickly knocked them off their feet and tied them up with the rope hanging between the stanchions, then moved on towards the other three. She defeated them just as quickly, and carried all five men out of the bank towards the police, who had just arrived.

"Here you go officer," Kara said, dumping the five, tied up men at his feet. The officer shook his head in amazement. "I don't know what we'd do without you, Supergirl," he said, making Kara beam with pride. She turned around to take off but saw Winn suddenly making frantic one-handed motions at her, since he was holding her purse in the other. She quickly flew over to him, and landed just as the media vans started to show up. "What?" she hissed at him, not wanting people to be suspicious as to why Supergirl was talking to him.

"One got away!" he exclaimed.

Kara frowned. "But I got all five-"

"No! There were six, I just saw him run out the back. He must've been in the back room when you came in or something, because right after you brought those other guys out I saw him take off, right after..." Winn trailed off, and it was then that she noticed just how spooked he looked.

Kara suddenly became aware of a video camera trained on both herself and Winn, and she quickly took off, not wanting to give away clues to her secret identity. She trusted Winn, so she started to circle the City and tried to use her super hearing to find the sixth man, but wasn't able to find him.

Kara landed on the ground and quickly changed out of her Supergirl outfit, feeling slightly frustrated with herself for not being able to find the escapee, but figured she would find him later. She put on her glasses and tried to walk casually back over to Winn, and had to refrain from laughing when she saw him standing right where she left, awkwardly cradling her purse in his arm as though he had never even touched one before.

"Something seemed almost...familiar about him," Winn remarked as soon as she stopped next to him.

"Who? The guy who escaped?" Kara responded, taking back her bag from his arms.

Winn was silent for a second, then shook his head. "I don't know," he finally said.

Kara nudged his arm, confused about the sudden shift in his mood. "Are you okay?"

He suddenly seemed to realize he wasn't making any sense to her. "Yeah, sorry, I just...thought of something. Don't worry, I'm fine." He gave a quick smile, but it didn't convince her. Even all throughout their lunch, he seemed distracted, and Kara couldn't help but worry. Whenever she was around Winn he always seemed happy and carefree, but now he seemed worried as well.

Finally Kara couldn't stand it anymore. "Winn, what's wrong? And don't say 'nothing,' I know you better than that," she added as he started to object.

He sighed - a sign Kara knew as defeat - and looked down at his food. "That man who escaped," he started, not meeting her eyes, "when he was running away, he looked up at me - just for a split second - but I could've sworn he was..."

"Was what?" Kara prompted after a few seconds of silence.

Winn's brown eyes finally met hers. "I could've sworn he was my father."


	3. Chapter 3

- **WINN** -

Winn could remember the day Kara had told him she was Supergirl clearly in his mind. He remembered feeling perplexed as to why Kara wanted to talk to him on the roof; feeling heart-wrenching fear as he watched her fall backward off the building; the amazement at realizing she really was the girl who saved the plane; and most importantly, the happiness at the fact that she had trusted him with her secret.

That's how he knew he could trust her with his. He told her the day after Thanksgiving that his father was in prison - a secret he had never told anyone since he moved to National City. The shock on her face when she heard his words had been evident, but the kindness and sympathy in her entrancing blue eyes had given him the courage to tell her something else as well: that she was the person he was most thankful for.

But now, as he watched her process the statement he had finally admitted, he worried as to what she would think of him. He had never told her anything more about his past except that his father was in jail, and he realized now that eventually he would have to spill to her as to how his father got to be a convicted criminal - a long, painful story he had been trying to forget.

Finally Kara spoke. "So you think that the man from the bank heist was your dad?" she asked, clarifying what he was trying to tell her.

Winn shook his head. "I know, it sounds stupid, and I haven't seen him since I was eighteen, but...that man just looked so much like him." He could never forget his father's appearance - with his high cheekbones, long straight nose, broad shoulders, and the same brown eyes that Winn had. So many times his father had looked down at him with those eyes, always full of disappointment or annoyance.

Winn tried to clear the memory from his head, but was met with little success. "What I'm trying to understand is why he would be here, of all places," he remarked. "He's supposed to be in jail, in another city almost one hundred miles from here." He picked up his fork and started absent-mindedly stabbing at his chicken casserole he had barely eaten.

Kara was silent for a second, but then reached across the table and took his hand in hers. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a coincidence. You yourself said you hadn't seen him in six years."

Winn nodded, grateful for her encouragement, and kept his eyes on their conjoined hands, glad that Kara hadn't pulled away yet. He looked up at the TV above their heads, trying to think of how to respond, when he suddenly saw himself on the screen. He sat up straighter and squinted his eyes, as though it were just a trick of the light, but then realized that it was footage from the bank earlier today. "That's us," Winn stated in a whisper, and Kara whipped her head around to look at the display just in time for her to see herself as Supergirl talking to him.

Winn could practically feel worried tension radiating off her, and this time, he was the one reassuring her by saying, "Don't worry, you talk to tons of random citizens all the time. No one's going to think anything of Supergirl talking to me."

She turned back around and gave a sheepish smile. "I know, I kinda overreact a little, but...every time I'm seen as Supergirl with one of my friends - who actually know who I am - I have this fear..." She trailed off, shaking her head slightly before speaking again. "I guess I just worry that some of my enemies will put two and two together and, well - what I'm try to say is I'm afraid they'll go after you guys and hurt you, trying to get you to tell them who I am or where to find me." She said the last part quickly, as though she was almost embarrassed at thinking that way.

But Winn didn't see what was so wrong with being paranoid about that. "You're just trying to protect the people you care about," he pointed out to her.

She gave a small smile, the one that always causes Winn's heart to skip a beat. "I know, it's just...kind of like your fear of heights. I don't think I'll ever get over it." She then laughed as Winn's face morphed into mock-offense.

"I'm not _that_ scared of heights," he defended himself. "I just find them rather-"

"Terrifying?" interjected Kara, a playful smile lighting up her face. Winn could feel his mood lightening considerably, but it was soon dampened again when he saw a familiar man enter the cafe and head over to them. He had to bite back a groan as he watched James come stand by Kara and smile down at her. "You seem happy," he remarked, his hand resting on the back of her chair. Kara turned to look up at James, and it made Winn feel slightly sick to his stomach as he watched Kara beam at him. _How can I ever compete with him?_ he thought in disdain. _Kara's nuts about him, it's a miracle she even notices me - well, when James isn't around, that is._

"James!" Kara exclaimed, with more enthusiasm than she probably needed. "Here, come join us," she invited him, pulling another chair next to their table.

"Thanks," said James as he sat down. Winn figured that the conversation he and Kara were having before was now over, and felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he watched the two converse, as though he wasn't even there. He had to take a slow breath, trying to calm some of the anger he was starting to feel. One minute Kara was with him, telling him how much she cared about _all_ her friends, but then the next minute she had seemed to have forgotten all about him and his troubles, for she was too busy fawning over James.

Finally after a few minutes Winn couldn't take it anymore. _Either say something to them or leave_ , he told himself, and decided to choose the latter.

"Hey guys, I've gotta run, so I'll see you later, okay?" he said quickly as soon as there was a slight break in the conversation.

"Oh, alright," James said, sounding surprised that he wanted to leave so soon.

Kara frowned, worry furrowing her brow. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked, earning herself a confused glance from James.

Winn nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to act as though he wasn't hurt or frustrated or anything else he was feeling.

"Yeah," he managed to say, then gave a quick smile and wave and hurried out, not caring if James thought of him as strange or a bit out of sorts. He had stopped caring what James thought a long time ago.

He remembered the first week James had starting working at CatCo, and almost smiled despite his down mood. Every woman who worked at the media center had seemed infatuated by him, and Winn remembered trying not to laugh as James was trailed by various female employees all day, trying to get his number or at least get him to talk to them. Fortunately for the rest of the male workers, this only lasted for a little while, but not for Winn. Every day he had to watch Kara interact with James, and even though Winn wanted to hate him for this, he just couldn't. Truthfully, James was one of the nicest men Winn had ever met, and there was nothing bad about him in the least.

 _I'm just jealous,_ Winn thought, a simple realization arriving with such little fanfare. _Jealous of James and his friendship with Kara._

The rest of the walk back to the CatCo office seemed to blur in Winn's mind as he tried to focus on lighter matters that didn't make him worry as much. When he finally did arrive, he decided to take the stairs up to his floor rather than take the elevator, thinking that maybe a change in routine would help him feel more upbeat. The office was quieter than usual, since Cat was gone as well, and the only thing really making noise were the numerous TV'S stationed all around the building.

Winn didn't mind the silence - he actually found it relaxing - so he sank into the chair at his desk and started to mess with his computer, having already finished most of his work for the day. The reporter on the TV droned on about some law the government was deciding to pass when suddenly the report changed and he heard something that made his heart stop.

"...three days ago in Gaul Point there was a massive prison break from the State prison and thirty three convicts escaped. Only four have been found so far, and police speculate that many have found refuge in neighboring towns. Police warn everyone to be safe and on the look out for suspicious characters when traveling in town, and to report suspicious behavior to the authorities immediately..." the report then continued on about some man winning the lottery, but Winn wasn't paying attention anymore.

He jumped up in his chair and grabbed the phone on his desk, and dialed a number he unfortunately knew by heart. It ringed three times before someone finally picked up. "Gaul Point Police Station, how can I help you today?" a crisp female voice said from the other side of the line.

Winn didn't bother with formalities. "I need to know if Winslow Schott Sr. is still in the state prison," he demanded, feeling his heart race with anticipation.

"I'm sorry, but that information cannot be released," said the annoyingly chipper receptionist.

"But he's my father, and I have to know-"

"I'm afraid all information regarding the prisoners is classified, unless you come down to the station and can prove that your are in relation to one of the convicts."

Winn gave a frustrated sigh. "Never mind," he said, and then hung up. He thought only for a second about what to do until an idea struck him. Leaning forward in his chair, he quickly got on his computer and pulled up the Gaul Point Police website. "Time to do some hacking," he mumbled under his breath, typing at his keyboard with lightning speed. Only a few seconds later he had pulled up all the police records within the past month, and quickly started scrolling down the list, his eyes scanning each one until-

"Where is it?" Winn exclaimed to himself.

"Where is what?" a voice responded, startling Winn so bad he jumped in his chair. _What I wouldn't give for Kara's super hearing_ , he fleetingly thought as Cat Grant started to walk towards him. Winn quickly managed to change the screen and exit out of the police file tab.

"I asked you a question," Grant said again, stopping by his desk, one hand on her hip and the other carrying a file full of papers.

Winn stammered slightly before he could finally form an answer. "I was uh, just thinking aloud, and I uh, was trying to find a...software program I had downloaded," he quickly finished, feeling the scrutinizing gaze of his boss glaring down on him.

She was quiet for a second before she suddenly asked, "Your name's Walter, correct?"

"Actually it's Winn. Winn Schott," he replied, thankful it wasn't something he had to lie about again.

Cat frowned. "You're the IT, right?"

Winn nodded. "Yes, I've been working here for two years," he told her, trying not to let it bother him that she didn't remember who he was.

Cat gave a small nod. "You must be doing a good job if I haven't gotten any news about you." She remarked, tapping the file in her hand with a long, perfectly manicured nail. "No news is good news," she said as she walked away towards her office.

 _No news is good news_ , echoed Winn in his head. He wasn't sure he believed that.

He waited as soon as Cat had turned around back at her desk before he pulled up the police files again, and then read them all carefully to make sure he didn't miss one. But the one file he was looking for was missing - the one that had the records of the escaped prisoners. He decided to try a few more other techniques he had learned to see if he could find the missing file another way, but he couldn't.

 _It's like it doesn't exist!_ Winn exclaimed, in his head this time. He continued hacking into all the police records he could find, but there wasn't a trace of the missing file anywhere. Winn sat back in his chair, stumped. If he couldn't find them, then no one could, unless...

A sudden memory resurfaced in his brain. Him, at nine years old, sitting at the computer, watching the man who had taught him how to hack into documents and files. The only other man who could possibly erase a file without even leaving a trace of its existence: _his father_. Winn quickly scanned the rest of the files and realized that there were no online records of his father even having gone to jail - they were all erased.

Winn stood up and hurried out of the office, a sporadic plan forming in his head. He could her the receptionist's voice running through his mind: " _I'm afraid all information regarding the prisoners is classified, unless you come down to the station and can prove that your are in relation to one of the convicts."_ The digital files may have been erased - but not the hand written ones.

Gaul Point was only two and a half hours away from National City. He could catch a bus, go there, get the info he needed, and come back all before tomorrow. _Cat won't care that I'm gone_ , he thought, trying to reassure himself of his plan. _And Kara probably won't notice if James is around._ The more he thought about it the more he felt sure it was what he had to do. If his father had erased his files for a reason, he had to find out why.

Winn stopped by his apartment real quick to get some ID he would be needing, and then turned around to head out when he saw Alex Danvers come out of her sister's apartment.

Alex smiled. "Hey, Winn. Just delivered Kara some groceries she asked me to get. What's new with you?" she asked. She was sporting her normal black outfit - probably having just gotten back from her job at the DEO - and was carrying what looked like a purse, but Winn knew it ws probably full of weapons or some secret government technology.

"Nothing - nothing out of the ordinary," Winn stumbled over his words. He was a terrible liar, and everyone who knew him well could see through his lies. Which included Alex.

She narrowed her eyes, concern showing on her face. "Is everything all right?"

Winn sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to lie his way out of the situation. So instead he decided to tell her the partial truth. "I'm fine, it's just my dad. He's not...doing so well, so I'm going out of town to see him." He held his breath, hoping she would buy his story and not ask to many questions.

She seemed to believe him, because her face morphed into an expression of sympathy and she gently put a hand on his arm. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Is he sick?"

Winn nodded. _More like sick and twisted,_ he thought, but didn't say that aloud.

"Well, I hope he gets better. Let me know if I can do anything to help." Alex gave a small smile, similar to the one Kara gave him so often, bid him goodbye, and then disappeared down the stairs. Winn waited a few seconds to give her a head start before he started after her, not wanting to catch up and have to talk again.

A few minutes later he was in a cab headed to the bus station when he felt his phone ring in his jacket. He picked it up and saw Kara's face on the screen, and had to will his voice to not betray him as he answered. "Hi," was all he managed to say. _Apparently she didn't forget about me after all,_ he said to himself, smiling at the fact.

"Where are you? Lunch break ended ten minutes ago!" she demanded, and Winn could hear a note of anxiety in her voice.

"I'm fine, something just... came up. But I'll be back soon," he tried to reassure her.

Kara was quiet for a second before she said, "Alex called. She was wondering how long your father had been _sick_ for."

Winn grimaced inwardly, forgetting at how Kara and Alex seem to share everything with each other now. "Where are you?" Kara asked again. "Please Winn, I'm really worried about you." Winn was touched by the concern in her voice, and that's when he made a decision.

He was going to tell her everything.

Everything about his father. Everything about his past. She deserved to know.

"Can you meet me at the bus station? I have a long story to tell you," he finally responded. Kara quickly complied and then hung up, and when he got to the bus terminal she was already waiting for him.

She turned around and looked at him, fixing her glasses as she did so. "Was this why you left lunch early?" she asked before he could say anything. It would have been easy to just say 'yes' and not have to tell her how he felt about her and James as well, but something stopped Winn from saying the simple word.

"No," he said instead. He could feel her eyes watching him, as though she were looking right through him. He thought about how to phrase the feelings he felt in words, and finally said, "I left because...I felt as though once James arrived, you would be too preoccupied with him to notice I was still there."

"But I did notice!" Kara tried to defend herself.

"You only noticed me because I interrupted you," Winn pointed out, feeling some of the hurt he had been harboring pouring out in his words. "And it's not just today, it's like this everyday!" he said, finally voicing the thoughts that had been trapped in his head for so long. Kara stood still, looking shocked, and Winn realized it was probably the first time she had ever heard him raise his voice around her. He immediately felt guilty, but before he could apologize, Kara had started speaking again. "Why do you hate James so much?" she cried. "And don't try to deny it, you always get so upset when he's around."

 _This was a bad idea_ , Winn suddenly thought. He had wanted to talk about his past, not James. But they were already too deep in the conversation. Winn gave a frustrated sigh, never imagining that he could actually feel this way towards Kara. "I don't hate him," he finally admitted. "It's just that he seems so...perfect! He has every thing he could want, too! A great job, a girlfriend, good looks, a family that loves him," he felt his voice catch slightly on the last item he listed. "And you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Kara seemed speechless, so Winn continued to talk. "Do you have to get back to Grant now?"

Shaking her head, Kara found her voice again as she told him, "Cat can wait. You're my best friend, and I'll do whatever you need me to." She sat down on the bench nearest to them and Winn felt his heart swell with emotion. How could one minute she make him so angry and frustrated, and then the next make him feel madly in love? His thoughts swirling with silent wonder, he sat down next to Kara and took a deep breath.

"Right now, I just need you to listen," he told her quietly. After so many years of trying to hide, trying to forget about the memories of his past, he was about to share them all with the only person he could trust the most.

Presently, he began to speak.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: So sorry it took so long for me to update this chapter! I've been so busy this week and plus I wanted to make sure I got this chapter just right. This was a really tricky chapter to write, cause I didn't want the flashback to be too dramatic, but I didn't get want the characters to have no emotion either. But anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it :)_**

 ** _(Also this whole flashback chapter is just my own story that I made up, it's not based off of any of the comics or other DC productions)_**

 **EIGHT** **YEARS AGO-**

 **Gaul Point, Friday, October 25**

Winn's head was buzzing with excitement as he followed his mom towards the car. "Did you see that last touchdown though?" he exclaimed, his eyes blazing with admiration for the football players. "Fifty-two to fifty, five seconds left in the game, and we score a touchdown! Unbelievable!"

His mom laughed, small wrinkles appearing around her eyes. "It was pretty cool," she agreed, watching her son practically jump up and down with excitement. She laughed again and pulled out the keys to the car, unlocking it, and then opening the door.

"Wait, mom, can I drive?" Winn asked, his attention now averted from the game to her.

Winn's mom glanced at the darkening sky, a storm threatening to break just over the horizon. "I don't know," she remarked. "Your father warned you about driving in storms..."

Winn rolled his eyes. "Who cares what he thinks? I just got my license! I think I'm entitled to at least get to try it out by driving once today, right?" His mom could see the determination set in his face and complied. "Alright, just don't tell your father," she winked as she said it, tossing him the keys and climbing into the passengers seat.

Her son climbed in next to her, closed the doors and locked them, then proceeded to check all the mirrors as though he was still in his drivers exam. Winn's mom refrained a chuckle. "Always so meticulous," she mumbled under her breath. Winn either didn't hear her or ignored her.

He backed out of the lot they were parked in and continued on towards the main road, heading in the direction of their house. There was silence except for the soft patter of the rain that had started to fall onto the car, and the swish of the windshield wipers moving back and forth across the glass every so often.

"How are you doing in that new computer class you signed up for?" Winn's mom asked, gazing out the window at the road, which was glowing eerily due to the lamps that lit up the street. Winn seemed to light up at the topic. "I think it's going great! Just yesterday our teacher, Mr. Bentley, told me I was at the top of the class, and that I was doing so well he thought I should move right up to the college course instead."

"That's wonderful, dear!" his mother praised him, but she didn't miss the sudden change in his demeanor as he bit his lip, looking unsettled. "What's wrong?" she asked, feeling concern for her only son well up in her chest.

Winn hesitated, as though he were about to shake his head and tell her 'not to worry,' like he normally did, but this time he sighed instead and kept his eyes glued to the road, barely glancing at her. "I just wish...I wish that dad could be proud of me for once, like you."

Winn's mom turned to look at him fully. "What do you mean? Of course your father's proud of you! You have so much amazing talent, how could he not?" But despite her words, Winn's shoulders seemed to slump even more, and his face hardened, refusing to betray his emotions.

"He's been telling me almost my whole life I'm going to be a store owner - that I'm going to inherit the family Toy Store and take over it, but that's _his_ dream, not mine. _I_ want to work with computers, work with technology; not spend the rest of my life selling toys to kids like some sort of Santa Claus figure." His tone was sour, and his mom had to wonder how long he had been harboring these feelings. She stayed quiet, letting him continue to talk.

"I mean, I like toys - especially collectibles - but that's not what I want to do for a living, and I thought he would understand that, considering he was the one who taught me how computers work and all, but he told me I was just being selfish and only thinking about what _I_ wanted to do. But aren't you always telling me to do what I think is right for me, and don't let others influence my choices?" he asked, now directing the question towards her. She slowly nodded, remembering telling him those very words more than once.

Winn and his father had never been very close; they always disagreed or saw things differently, but Winn's mother knew that both her husband and son were very stubborn, and that if she didn't do something to resolve the rift growing between them it could damage their whole relationship forever.

"When did you tell him you had a change of heart?" she inquired, deciding that she needed to know some of the details before she could fully fix the problem. "About three months ago," he stated simply, then added, "and ever since then he's been acting like I'm a disgrace to the family."

"I've never seen him act that way towards you!"

"He only does it when it's me and him," Winn clarified. His mother didn't know whether to believe Winn or to believe he was exaggerating, like most teenagers. _But Winn isn't like most teenagers_ , she reminded herself, watching her son stop at the stop sign before continuing on down the street. _He's quieter than most boys his age, and more polite too. Plus he is extremely smart_ , she added to her thoughts, feeling a swell of pride for her son. _But if only he could learn to forgive and forget_. She turned to look out the window again, losing herself in her own private thoughts.

Winn could see his mom sitting quietly in her seat, and wondered if it was a mistake sharing how he felt about his father to her. _We'll probably have to have a 'family talk' about it later_ , he thought, dreading the idea. _But as long as she's on my side, I should be fine._

He stopped again at a red light, looked both ways again before it turned green, and then he proceeded to cross the intersection.

"Winn, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you," his mom spoke up suddenly. Winn was about to answer when he saw a bright light out of the corner of his eye. A loud honking noise plus the screech of tires against the wet pavement was the last thing he remembered before everything went black.

·····

Winn's eyes snapped open. The world looked blurry to him, and he was aware of a cold, wet sensation falling on his face. _Water_ , his mind told him. He blinked his eyes, and things started to come into focus. _Rain_ , he thought, watching the small beads of water fall from the sky. It was then that he noticed he was outside. Lying on the ground.

Lights started to come into focus - orange glowing from a street lamp, and blue and red, flashing from a car somewhere in the distance...

Sounds came next. They were loud and jarring, and made Winn's head pound with a throbbing ache. There were voices - lots of voices, but too many to make out what was being said. A high pitched whining was floating through the air, steadily coming closer until it stopped somewhere next to the blue and red lights.

 _Police_ , his brain told him again. He tried to wrap his mind around what was happening. His body felt like lead, and he could barely lift his arms or legs. _Think Winn, think!_ he commanded himself, trying to sort through all the muddled memories floating around in his head.

But he couldn't hold on to any of them. As soon as he was close to grasping one, it slipped out of his reach. It was like trying to grab light with your hands. Impossible.

Winn was dimly aware of footsteps near him, and then suddenly a white light shining in his eyes. The light didn't bother him though. He watched it and slowly felt himself slip away, as though falling through the sky with no destination in mind.

"He's going into shock."

The words sounded far away, but Winn's consciousness told him they were said by someone close by him. Suddenly a few of his memories started to fall back into place. He was driving. There had been bright lights. And another person, a person who was important to him...

Winn felt his body jerk and then suddenly he gasped, taking in large breaths of both air and rain. He started coughing, and then felt hands gently grab him and help him sit up. His wet hair fell into his eyes, momentarily blinding him until someone brushed it away.

"Mom?" he asked, barely recognizing his hoarse voice. But as soon as his eyes focused he could clearly see the woman before him was not his mother. This lady was much younger, and had short blond hair hanging limp from the rain. "You're going to be okay," was all the lady said, and Winn suddenly realized she was an EMT. His eyes started darting around, taking in his surroundings. He was lying on the side of the road, and he noticed a defibrillator only a few feet away from him. Lights continued to flash, and this time Winn could tell they belonged to police cars and ambulances. He continued to scan the scene and felt his eyes fall upon a car, upside down in the ditch. _His car._

 _I was in a car crash_ , he thought, suddenly just realizing the fact for the first time. His mind seemed to go numb after that, as though his brain was too tired to think anymore after having produced that one thought.

He realized the EMT was speaking to him again. "Just lie still for a second," she told him. "They're bringing a stretcher over right now, then we'll get you to the hospital." But before she was even done speaking, Winn was trying to stand up, feeling his heart pounding in his ears. His whole body shook as a terrifying thought worked its way into his head.

His mom had been with him in that car. But where was she now?

His right arm throbbed with pain, and he felt dizzy when he managed to get on his feet, but he couldn't give up. Not until he found her. Not until he knew she would be okay.

"Please, lie down," the woman instructed again, this time more sternly, but all Winn said in reply was, "Where's my mom?"

The EMT looked up at him with eyes full of regret and sympathy. "No," Winn managed to say, feeling his throat closing up. He seemed to forget how to breath for a second as his mind screamed, _no, no, no, NO!_

"Where is she?" he asked again, refusing to believe she was gone. The young nurse stood up and took his arm, gently guiding him to one of the ambulances that had just arrived. Winn tried to resist - but either the nurse was very strong or he was out of strength.

"Just let me see her," he begged, feeling his resolve slipping away. Winn felt himself shaking with fear as he awaited the woman's answer. The EMT bit her lip, and then pointed to another stretcher only ten feet from where they were standing. On it was his mom, her eyes closed and body still as though she were asleep. Only Winn knew she wasn't.

She was dead.

·····

The hospital room was a plain light blue, the color of the sky on a brisk fall morning. Winn supposed people thought the color as soothing or comforting, but no color could erase the pain he was feeling.

His mother had been killed last night. He still didn't know all the details as of how, but he knew one thing: he had been driving the car. Therefore it was by his doing that she was dead.

The nurses, doctors, and even police had told him it wasn't his fault; it was the other driver who had hit them, the driver who had then fled right after the accident had happened, but Winn couldn't help feeling that if he had been paying better attention to the road, it wouldn't have happened.

"Survivors guilt," is what the doctor who had bandaged his broken wrist had said. "You're a lucky man. It's a miracle you're alive."

But Winn felt anything but lucky.

What had happened after the news of his mother's death was pretty much a blur in his memory, except for him, collapsing on the ground in agony, and his father arriving, screaming and sobbing his wife's name over and over as though trying to bring her back. He had barely even glanced at his son once.

Winn laid in the hospital bed and stared at the blank, white ceiling. He felt numb, as though he couldn't feel or think anything anymore. He supposed he was in shock, like the doctor said might happen, but he was still aware of what was going on around him, and he could still feel the weight of his mom's loss pressing down on him, the guilt and sorrow threatening to break him.

Sudden footsteps seemed to break him away from his thoughts as Winn turned his head to see a man walking towards him, the same doctor who had bandaged his wrist earlier.

"Glad to see you awake," the older man remarked as he sat down next to his bed. Winn struggled to sit up, but the doctor but a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay son, don't strain yourself," he then held up some papers and informed him, "you suffered a minor concussion in that crash."

Just saying the word "crash" made Winn's stomach drop. After a second he was able to calm his racing heart and managed to get into a comfortable position without putting weight on his broken wrist.

"What's in those?" Winn asked pointing at the folder, his voice echoing slightly in the empty room.

The doctor pulled out the papers and rifled through them, finally pulling out one towards the bottom. "This one's your medical report," he stated as he held it up and started to read. "Broken right wrist, minor concussion, a fractured rib, and probably lots of bruises and bone aches." He gave Winn an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, you'll get through this."

The physical damage? Yes. Mental and emotional? Winn wasn't so sure yet. He listened to the doctor as he talked some more, explaining different medical precautions he had to take with his injuries, all the while working up the courage to ask the question that had been burning in the back of his mind all night. The question that could either ease his guilt or worsen it. Finally once the doctor had finished, Winn cleared his throat and asked, "How did it happen last night?" It was a simple question, but it was the only thing he had to know, and the doctor might have the answers.

The doctor hesitated for a second. "Perhaps you would like your father to tell you-"

"No," Winn quickly interrupted. He couldn't face his dad right now. His dad had only checked on him once since he was admitted to the hospital earlier that morning, and he had a feeling his father wouldn't want to have a family talk anytime soon. Winn tried not to be bothered by this, but he couldn't help feeling like his father was just adding salt to the wound.

The doctor seemed surprised at his sudden objection, but after a few moments consented. "Alright, I'll tell you what I know and what the police have discovered." He cleared his throat, as though preparing to tell a long story. "Apparently you were hit by a car, which in turn forced your car into the ditch." Winn refrained from pointing out how that was quite obvious. The doctor continued, "Not much is known of the other car except that it hit the passenger side of your vehicle, fled after the accident, and was probably not in too bad of a condition to have done so."

The doctor paused, as though thinking of how to best phrase his next sentence. "A few bystanders saw the accident but we're unable to give much of a description of the other car, but they immediately called the police and then managed to force the door of the drivers side open and get you out - which was a risky move, cause they didn't know what your condition was yet.

"Once they got you out they tried to help your mother, who wasn't as fortunate as you were." He said the last part quietly, and Winn noticed his vision go blurry. "The police then arrived and closed off the road, and shortly after the ambulances came, and they were able to save you. Your father was alerted as soon as ID was found, and he came down immediately, and I believe you know the rest."

There was a silence that followed his last sentence as Winn processed his words. "She wasn't in pain, right?" he finally asked, shattering the silence that had enveloped within the room.

"Her death was quick and painless," the doctor responded, looking at him with pity. "It wasn't your fault," he then added. "So whatever you do, don't let guilt consume you, because that guilt isn't real."

Winn nodded, feeling the constricting pain in his chest lessen slightly. The doctor told him he would be back soon, and it wasn't until after he left Winn noticed his face was wet with tears. Had it been any other circumstance, Winn would've felt embarrassed to be crying. But after the ordeal he had endured, he felt as though he deserved the right to be miserable, so he let the tears fall.

·······

 **Tuesday, May 25**

It had been exactly two years and seven months since the night of the car crash. Winn walked home from school, enjoying the warm rays of the sun and the sound of the trees blowing in the spring breeze. He didn't have to hurry home. No one was waiting for him there, for his father spent most of his time at the Toy Store he owned, and only came home late in the evenings.

Winn and his father had grown even farther apart than before, mainly because of what had happened during his mom's funeral that seemed so long ago. He could remember standing outside the church with his father, both dressed in black with bloodshot eyes, yelling at each other - or more like his father yelling at him and Winn defending himself.

His father's words had cut like a knife to his heart. He had already been worn out and tired by the end of the funeral, but hearing his dad telling him that his mother's death had been his fault, and that if he had been a better son and listened to him none of this would've happened had almost torn him apart. Winn had never stopped to think that his father might've just been trying to get over his sorrow by turning it into anger and taking it out on him, but he wasn't going to let his father push him around again, after so many years of doing it. Especially after he had just accepted that his mom's death had _not_ been his fault.

So he yelled back with just as much anger and hurt, until both of them had hoarse voices and were weary with fatigue. After that episode, they could barely speak to each other without getting into another fight, so they both mutually decided to speak as little as possible.

Winn knew it would've broken his mother's heart to see them like this, and it truly made him sad too, because he could still remember all the good, fun memories he had made with his father. He knew that his father had changed, and that no matter how much he wished or hoped, there could never be that same bond between them again.

When all of this first happened, Winn didn't know how he would get through it all, but somehow, miraculously, he had. And now that he looked back on the whole ordeal he realized he had changed too, only he believed the change had made him even better than before. He understood people better, and could sympathize with their pain. He also found he that he had become an optimist, which surprised him given that he had never been one before.

Winn continued down the street to his house, preferring to walk rather than drive or take the bus. He never drove anymore, for it brought back too many memories - memories he wanted to forget.

He finally got to his house and and went to unlock the door when he noticed it was already unlocked. Winn hesitated before slowly opening the door and peering inside, and was surprised to see his father at the table in the kitchen, which was right across from the entry way.

His father was leaned over the table, working attentively on some object lying before him. Winn stepped inside and closed the door, his eyes still glued on his father. At the sound of the door closing Winn's dad turned around and frowned at him. "Why are you home?" he asked, quickly blocking his work from Winn's view.

"School's out," was all he responded. "What are _you_ doing home so early?"

Winn's father seemed hesitant to respond. "I needed some tools that I don't have at the shop," he surprised Winn by answering his question. Winn turned his head again to get a glimpse of the mysterious object that his father was preoccupied with, but his dad quickly blocked it from his view again. "It's none of your business, you know," he said, and then turned and scooped up all the pieces he had been tinkering with and took them to his office.

But Winn had managed to get a glimpse of what he was working on, and felt as though something was off about it. It had been a toy he was making, but he made those all the time, so why was this one a secret?

Winn sighed and retreated to his room. _Four more days,_ he thought to himself. In four days he would graduate from High School and get to leave. True, he could've left sooner, but Winn was determined to at least get his diploma so he would have a better chance at getting a job. Plus it was also one of the things his mom wanted him to achieve, and he felt he should still honor her wish as a last tribute to her.

 _Four more days_ , he encouraged himself. _Four more days and I'll finally be free._

·····

 **Graduation Day, Saturday, May 29**

Winn stood in his bedroom and looked at himself in the mirror, noticing the slight changes in his appearance compared to years past. He was still about the same height - which greatly annoyed him, for he wanted to be tall - and his hair was darker and longer, but other than that he looked like the same Winn from when he started High School.

Except that he wasn't the same.

The old Winn would not have been desperate to get out of town, leave home and go to live in a strange new city. The old Winn would not have wanted to say goodbye to his High School life and all of his friends. And most importantly, the old Winn would not have had to wonder whether his father cared enough to come see his own son graduate.

His dad was probably at the Toy Shop again, and Winn figured even if he _did_ come to the ceremony, he probably wouldn't come home first, so he grabbed his backpack that had his cap and gown in it and headed out the door. He had barely taken four steps down his drive when something in the bushes caught his eye.

It was a small, green army man, with a parachute attached to its back. Winn picked it up, instantly recognizing it as one his father had made, wondering how it got to be buried in the bushes. Shrugging slightly to himself, Winn shoved it into his pocket without giving it much thought, and continued to walk down to road.

When he finally did reach his school, he met up with the rest of his class and the few close friends he had, and participated in the ceremony with everyone else. When his name was called, Winn walked across the stage, was handed his diploma, and felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he scanned the crowd. He wasn't expecting to see his father, but he was still disappointed that he didn't show up. The rest of the ceremony seemed to pass by slowly, and after everyone had walked across the stage, they were finally free.

Many kids stayed around, talking with others and giving tearful or joyful hugs, but Winn felt out of place among all the socializing and reminiscing. He quickly bid goodbye to a few close teachers and friends, and then left the school, knowing that he would probably never see it again.

He was planning to leave the very next morning. He already had a packed bag lying in his bedroom, full of the things he would need to start his new life. He had been accepted into multiple colleges, but he ended up choosing one in National City, a large town a few hours away from Gaul Point. He had never been there before - his family had never been keen on traveling - and it sounded like a good place for him to find a fresh start.

The sun was starting to set over the large grove of trees on his street, and Winn allowed himself to stop and watch for a moment, realizing for the first time he was actually going to miss small moments such as these: the sunset over his house, walking home on the familiar sidewalks everyday, the sounds of-

Winn's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loud whine of a police siren. He turned his head and saw a group of squad cars all clustered together in front of one of the houses down the street.

 _My house_ , Winn realized, feeling a lump of fear settle in his throat as he raced down the road and came to a halt in his front yard.

"What...?" he started to ask, but his eyes were drawn to a pair of figures walking to the car nearest to him. It was a police officer, and with him in handcuffs was-

"Dad." Winn said it more as a statement rather than a question. The officers around him looked up at the sound of his voice. "Who are you?" they questioned. Winn quickly told them, then asked, "What's going on? Why is he being arrested?"

"He's being arrested for the murder of nine civilians."

Winn felt like they had delivered a blow to his stomach. He knew his father was evil, in a tyrannical sort of way, but he never thought he would actually kill anyone. After a moment Winn seemed to remember how to speak again, so he asked, "How? And why?"

"The 'how' part we know. They were killed with these." He held up a bag up objects, and Winn recognized them as toys. "These things have been turned into deadly killing machines," the officer told him. "Some have hidden bombs in them, others have poisonous chemicals, and some are even remote controlled." He pulled out a little army man and held it up, showing him the wires and controls in the parachute attached to its back.

Winn was suddenly very aware of the small figurine in his pocket he had found in the bush. _That's what he was doing_ , he suddenly realized, thinking back to a few days ago. _He was turning those toys into weapons, and he didn't want me to see._

"But why?" he asked again, focusing back onto the present.

"Cause he's insane," said one of the officers from across the yard, who was searching their property for more weapons. His father surprised them all by answering, "Oh, I might be insane to some, but I can assure you I was completely aware of what I was doing, and I'm glad it's done. Those people deserved an even worse fate than what they got, but that's as good as a punishment they'll get for taking my wife away from me." The look in his eyes was crazed, and Winn took a step back, no longer believing he knew the man that was in front of him.

"Who...who was killed?" Winn asked quietly, afraid he already could guess some of the answers.

The officer listed off nine names, and Winn felt himself grimace at each one. They were the people remotely involved in his mother's death. The EMT who declared his mom as 'too late to save,' the bystanders who weren't able to recognize the hit-and-run car, the police officer who gave up on trying to find the people driving the car responsible for the accident...

Winn felt himself shaking with both horror and anger. He could barely look at his dad's face as they drove him away to the station.

"We're going to have to take you down for questioning as well," the officer said to him. Winn wanted to object, to run away from this nightmare he was living, but instead he just curtly nodded and followed the older man, wanting more than ever to leave and never return.

·····

"I wasn't able to leave until my dad's trial was finished," he told Kara, carefully looking anywhere but her face. "And once he was found guilty and given a lifetime sentence in jail, I left and I've never returned. Until now, at least."

There was a silence, and Winn sneaked at glance at her face. He was surprised to see tears streaming silently down her cheeks, and he felt the sudden urge to brush them away, and have the feel of her soft skin against his fingertips. He refrained from doing so though, deciding that now might not be the best time.

"I never knew," she whispered, her voice steady despite her display of emotion. "When I lost my parents, I remembered thinking that I could never love anyone the same way again without being reminded of my loss, but I soon proved myself wrong. I loved my step-parents, and though they could never replace my real ones, they showed me that even with all the hurt and loss life throws at us, we can always prevail as long as we're brave enough to try."

She turned and looked Winn in the eyes. "I guess it's true what they say, about the people who hurt the most smile the brightest, but the people who hurt the most can also be the bravest, as long as they don't let their sorrow consume them. You're possibly one of the bravest people I know Winn, and if there's anything I can do to help you, please tell me."

Winn felt like he would get all choked up if he said anything more, so he just nodded and squeezed her hand, not letting go until he saw the bus come. He stood up, and Kara did the same.

"Cover for me at work, okay?" he asked. Kara quickly agreed. "You'll be back tomorrow, right?" she confirmed. Winn nodded, and then started toward the bus.

"Good luck," he heard Kara whisper, and felt his heart glow with warmth. Even though he had endured horrible things in his past, he realized that if they had never happened, he would've never met Kara.

And for that he would always be thankful.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: So sorry I haven't posted in forever, but I promise I will try to post more often now! Anyway, hope you like the next chapter, please read and review! Thx :)**_

- **KARA** -

Kara walked back to the CatCo office slowly, trying to take in all that Winn had just told her. She never knew until just a few moments ago what he had been through, and she was amazed at how he could cope with it all. He truly was one of the bravest people she knew.

She made it back to the office just in time to help Cat deliver a few spreadsheets, and then she was free to work on other miscellaneous projects she had been given for the rest of the afternoon. But no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the given tasks at hand, she couldn't get Winn's sad, heartbroken face out of her mind when he told her about the death of his mom.

She had always thought that no one could go through anything as terrible as she had - having her parents and whole planet destroyed - but Winn came close. First to have to struggle with the pain of losing his mom, then having to face a father who blamed him and claimed he didn't love him anymore might be worse than knowing you had two parents who loved you and died to save you.

But there was another problem that was tugging at the back of Kara's mind, but she didn't quite know what to make off it. Winn had said that whenever she was around James, it was like he was invisible to her, but that wasn't true, was it? She tried to think back to all the different scenarios that involved her, Winn, and James. She had always been presently conscious that Winn was there, but now, as she felt a sinking feeling of guilt settle in the pit of her stomach, she realized she had never exactly interacted with him after James arrived, and she did ignore him in a sense.

But Winn had also said another thing that was making her wonder; something else about James that she wasn't sure what to make of. He said that James had everything that he could want - including her. Did Winn think that she was with James? Of course, Kara would never date James as long as he was with Lucy, but was that the type of idea she was giving people? That she was trying to move in on James and take him from Lucy?

She always felt slightly lightheaded and nervous whenever she was around him, but was she acting too eager and obvious towards him? Apparently she was, if other people came to the same conclusion as Winn. Once again she felt guilt settle over her, and realized she was no better than any of the other girls she had met or read about in stories that took advantage of people like James. It was then that she made a resolution: to consent to just be friends with James, nothing more. James was truly a nice guy, and Kara doubted she would ever meet another guy exactly like him, but she decided that maybe she needed to move on, since it was looking like she would never get a chance with him - at least not now because of the way his and Lucy's relationship was prospering.

 _There will be someone out there who's perfect for you, you just haven't found him yet_ , Kara tried to comfort herself, but still felt her hope dwindling away.

The rest of the afternoon passed relatively quickly, and Kara was thankful that she didn't run into James for the rest of the day. _Winn should be to the town by now_ , she thought as she walked out the door and took a cab back to her apartment, deciding to travel the normal way for today. She had thought about going to Gaul Point as well to see if she could help him - it would only be a short flight - but in the end she decided that this was something Winn needed to do on his own, and she respected his decision to go alone.

Kara climbed the six flights of stairs to her apartment and reached the top without even being short of breath, but when she got to her room she realized the door was already unlocked. Kara froze, and then used her X-Ray vision to scan the room inside to see who was in there. Just a second later she gave a quick sigh of relief and opened the door to find her sister sitting sideways on her couch, watching some old TV show that must've been airing at that time.

"I was wondering when you'd get home," Alex called from the living room.

"What are you doing here?" Kara asked, pleased by the surprise visit. She hopped onto the couch next to her adoptive sister and turned to look at her. "Did you have the rest of the afternoon off?"

Alex nodded. "Yep. Everything's in perfect order at the DEO - no villains escaping or anything -" she flashed a smile, but then said in a more serious tone, "but I was also wondering if Winn was okay. You sounded distressed when I mentioned him on the phone earlier. Is everything all right?"

Kara sighed, not sure what to say. She knew Alex always felt indebted to Winn for helping her find out information about her father, and would do anything to help him, but she didn't know whether Winn would want her to tell Alex about his personal past.

She finally decided it was okay to tell her. She knew she could trust Alex, and Winn could too.

The next few minutes Kara gave a quick summary of the story Winn had shared earlier, and by the end Alex was now fully facing her, her eyes full of sympathy for their friend.

"Poor Winn," she whispered when Kara finally finished. She shook her head slightly. "Is there anything we can do?"

This time Kara shook her head. "I already asked, but he said he was fine. I guess all we can give him now is comfort and support." Kara bit her bottom lip, feeling many memories resurfacing of how she had unintentionally blocked or ignored Winn, and felt guilt rise up again.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, reading into her troubled expression. Kara waited for a second before answering, "I guess I just feel guilty. He's been through all this pain and hurt, and I've haven't been a very good friend to him lately."

There was a pause in their conversation as each were lost in their own thoughts. "It's not entirely your fault, you know," Alex then said. "You didn't know what he had been through, so you can't blame yourself for not comforting him or anything. And besides, Winn's strong. If he wanted pity or sympathy from you he would've told you sooner, but all that he wants from you is to be his friend...or maybe even something more," she added with a sly smile.

Kara snapped her head up. "What?" she asked.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Seriously Kara, for someone who claims to have super vision, I swear you're blind sometimes." She turned back to the TV, not saying anything more. Kara sat still for almost a whole minute before she asked, "What did you mean by, 'something more'?"

This time Alex let out an exasperated chuckle. "Are you seriously telling me you've _never_ noticed how much Winn cares for you? It's so obvious! I've known him almost as long as you have, and even then I could immediately tell how he felt towards you."

Kara didn't know what to feel. Pleased? Flattered? Scared? Confused? She knew that Winn had always cared for her, but she always thought it was in more of a platonic-friendship sort of way.

"You really didn't know?" Alex asked again, all the mockery from her tone gone. Kara didn't know how to respond, so she just shrugged.

Winn was her best friend. Ever since the day she had met him at CatCo around two years ago, he had always been there for her and helped with anything she asked. She could remember all the late nights at the office when he had stayed to help her with her work, and all the laughs they had making fun of her useless projects she had been assigned. She remembered all the times they had walked home from the office together, just enjoying the weather and talking with each other. She remembered the many times Winn would come over to her apartment or she to his, and just eat pizza and watch TV or movies in the living room. She could remember inviting Winn to go look at Christmas lights with her and Alex on Christmas Eve, and how all three of them had such a great time they didn't get home until after midnight. And one memory that stood out the most was when Winn had pulled her aside after a hard day at the office, and encouraged her to not let Cat beat her; he encouraged her to stay strong and not give up; he encouraged her to be herself, and to not let other people try to change who she was. She could recall being slightly shocked at Winn - who had always been so quiet and had never really spoken his mind to her before - but she was extremely grateful for his words, and told him that she would never forget them. Winn had known Kara long before she became Supergirl, and even after he discovered her true identity he still stood by her side, and supported her even more than before.

One more memory rose to the surface of her mind: Winn's face, and the look of hurt, confusion, and jealousy all mixed together when he saw her hugging James. _How could I have not seen this before?_ Kara asked herself, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly.

She was torn away from her thoughts by the sound of her sister's voice coming from the kitchen. "Are you just going to sit there and stare at the coffee table for the rest of the evening, or do you want to go get some food?" she asked, grabbing her purse off the counter. Kara hadn't even realized Alex had gotten up. Quickly shaking all the thoughts concerning Winn from her head, Kara stood up and grabbed her jacket. "You're right. Lets get something to eat."

·······

The next morning Kara waited anxiously by her desk. She checked the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time already that day, and then glanced over at Winn's empty chair.

 _He was supposed to be back by now,_ Kara worried to herself, trying not to think about all the things that could've happened to prevent her friend from returning.

"KARA!" The shout made Kara jump in her chair and she quickly hurried into Cat's office, only to find her boss staring at blank computer screens. "There seems to be something wrong with the computer circuits," she told her with a sigh of annoyance. "Can you get your friend, the funny little computer man, and get him to fix this?"

Kara closed her eyes and grimaced. Of course, the _one day_ Winn wasn't there, and Cat needed him.

"Um, actually Miss Grant, Winn isn't here today," Kara told her rather quietly. Cat turned around and looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "And why isn't he?" she asked reproachfully.

Kara fiddled with the tablet she had in her hands as she struggled to think of something to say. "He, uh, wasn't feeling well...so I told him he should stay home and rest. He hasn't had a sick day pretty much all year," she told her boss, hoping that this once she would let it slide.

For a moment Kara feared that Cat would see this as an unfit reason or would demand he be replaced, but she just pursed her lips and nodded.

"I see," she stated. "Well, tell him I hope he gets well soon - his services are indeed missed - and go get the computer mechanic guy or whatever he's called from the floor below. Perhaps he can fix this." She turned back around to stare at the black screens as Kara quickly nodded and hurried out of the office, feeling a sense of gratitude towards Cat. She was truthfully surprised she had let Winn of the hook so easy, especially when others times if someone wasn't where Cat wanted she would fire them.

 _Sometimes she's just strange that way, and surprises you when you least expect it_ , Kara decided in her head, and quickly hurried down to the next floor.

Just as she made it to the landing below, she ran into James, who was just making his way up the stairs. "Oh, hey Kara," he said casually. "Have you seen Winn? I need his help on something."

 _Why, on the one day he's gone, everyone needs him_? Kara couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh. "That's the problem. I _haven't_ seen him."

James frowned. "Is everything all right?" Kara gave a small nod. "Yeah, I guess. He was just supposed to be back by now."

"Back from where?"

Kara bit her lip, wondering whether to tell James where he really was or not. "He just had some family things he had to attend to out of town," Kara decided to say. "But I'm sure he's on his way back now."

"Oh," was all James said in response. "Well, tell me when he gets back, okay?"

Kara agreed and then proceeded to find the man Cat wanted. It wasn't until after she was heading back to Cat's office that she realized she hadn't felt strange or nervous at all when talking to James. She had been too preoccupied with other matters that she didn't even notice those feelings had vanished. She smiled, thinking that her plan to "just be friends" with James was working, then felt her phone buzz inside her purse. Kara quickly grabbed it and looked at the screen, sighing when she didn't see Winn's name. She had already called him three times that morning, but it always went straight to his voicemail.

The caller turned out to be a wrong number, so Kara hung up and then decided to call Winn for a fourth time.

It went straight to his voicemail again. " _Hey, you've reached Winn Schott. I'm not there at the moment, so just leave a message and I'll get back to you soon_." The phone beeped and Kara began to speak. "Winn, if you're not back by this afternoon, I'm flying over to Gaul Point myself and finding out where you are. Please, call me back." She then hung up hurried back to her desk and tried to keep herself busy, doing anything to keep her mind of worrying about Winn.

·······

It was on her lunch break when Kara finally got the call she had been waiting all day to get.

"Winn!" Kara practically shouted into her phone. "Where on earth are you? You said you would be back by this morning, so do you know how worried I was when you didn't show up?"

At first there was nothing but silence from the other end of the phone, but then she heard Winn say, "Sorry, I forgot to call you and tell you I'd be a little late getting home. Actually, I don't think I'll be able to come home for a while -not for a few days at least. There are some things I have to straighten out here."

"A few _days_? What about your dad and all of that stuff? You still don't know if he's the one you saw at the bank robbery?"

"Oh, that. No, I made a mistake. That guy I saw wasn't him, because my dad's still here." His voice sounded too cheerful for Kara to believe.

"Winn, what's going on? You're not making any sense!" Kara rubbed her temples as she tried to piece together what he was saying. He figured out that his dad is still in jail, but he wants to stay in town? She thought he hated that town, and wanted to get away from it.

"Alright, look. I'm going to fly down there and-"

"No!" Winn immediately cut her off. "I mean, this is something I have to do by myself Kara, and though I appreciate your concern, I'm fine. Everything's all right. Really."

"But _what_ do you have to do all by yourself!" Kara protested. "Winn, tell me what's-"

"Kara, just trust me, but I've gotta go. Bye." He hung up.

Kara stood still and stared at her phone as she slowly hung up as well. Although she couldn't understand half of what he was trying to say through that call, she knew two things: Everything was _not_ all right, and that Winn was in trouble.

And he didn't want her to get involved.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: I'm very excited to see the Toyman episode tonight! I know that after this episode my story probably won't follow the same Supergirl story plot anymore, but I'm hoping that it will be close :) Thank you for all the encouragement and reviews!**_

- **WINN** -

"You were always a terrible actor. I see at least that hasn't changed," came the cool, condescending voice from behind him. Winn gripped the phone in his hand even tighter, trying to keep himself from shaking in anger.

"Lots of things have changed with me. You just haven't taken the time to notice," Winn retorted as he turned around, sounding braver than he felt.

His father stepped forward slightly, his face disfigured from the shadows surrounding them. "Why, there's no need to get all defensive. I was just merely pointing out a simple fact."

Winn had to take a deep breath to calm himself. He had only been with his father for approximately half a day, and already he felt as though he was starting to lose his mind.

"Your friend Kara must not be too bright though, to think that there's an airport all the way out in Gaul Point," his father commented, referring to Kara's words " _I'm going to fly down there"_. Winn didn't like hearing his father call Kara "dumb," especially when she was very intelligent in his opinion, but as long as he didn't figure out she was Supergirl, he supposed it was better for his dad to think of her that way.

But if only he had decided to call Kara _before_ he entered his apartment the night earlier, maybe he would've been able to avoid this "abduction," as he liked to call it.

Winn's plan had been going perfectly up until the very end. He had traveled to his old town, went to the police station, and got the information that his father _had_ escaped and was now being hunted down. Then he filled out a contact form so they would call him when his father got caught, and returned home. He had stopped by Kara's apartment before he went to his, but there had been no one home. He figured she was probably out to dinner somewhere, so he would wait until later that evening to talk to her, but he never got the chance.

As soon as he entered his own room, he had come face to face with the man he had never wanted to see again - his father. And things only went downhill from there.

Because Winn had disagreed to "chat" with him and threatened to call the police, his father had resorted to kidnapping and thought that he could force his son to talk with him. But with Kara calling him almost every hour, Winn's father decided that Winn had to call and brush her off, making her believe he was still in Gaul Point and that everything was alright.

Winn knew for sure that Kara would be able to see through his lies, but he hoped it would take her a while to find them, for he didn't want Kara to get involved in anything his dad was planning. But just hearing her voice had given Winn some comfort, and he almost smiled despite the horrible situation he was in when he heard her say how worried she was about him. _She cares about me, even if it's just a little bit_ , he had thought.

His father's voice interrupted his reminiscing as he said, "I'll take that now since you're done," and plucked the phone from Winn's hands. "Now sit," he commanded, pointing to the chair behind his son. Winn stood standing, contemplating whether or not he should play along and do what his dad wanted, or to try and escape now. His eyes darted to the door at the far side of the old warehouse they were in, and he quickly tried to calculate the distance of how long it would take to try and make a dash for it. His father then suddenly shoved him backwards into the chair, apparently having seen Winn watching the door. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, but I must take extra precautions," he said as he then tied up Winn's hands behind his back. Winn only struggled for a second before he decided that the best option now was to just hear what his father had to say.

Once his dad finished tying his hands, he pulled up another chair from across Winn and smiled. The smile chilled Winn to the bone. So many times his father had once smiled like that, and that was when he was still the loving, happy man he had once been, but now the smile was cold and hollow, and only made Winn feel more alone than ever.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other," his father started out by saying. Winn had to refrain from rolling his eyes and retorting with a smart-aleck comment. His father continued to speak. "And believe me, if I could've avoided all of this, I would've, but you just _had_ to get in the way."

"Get in the way of what?" asked Winn, all the while silently straining against his bonds.

"My plan, obviously. But when you started calling people and trying to figure out where I was, I knew you would find me eventually, so I had to intervene and find you FIRST, so you wouldn't call your friend Supergirl on me."

Winn started as he stared at his father. "S-Supergirl? I'm not her friend, I-I don't even know her!" Winn protested, feeling his heart race. "Oh, really?" was all his father said in reply, as he got up and walked over to a small television set sitting on a dresser in the corner of the room. "Well, I have evidence that says otherwise." His dad turned on a light from above, and for the first time Winn really got a good look around the place they were in.

It was an old warehouse, as he had already deducted, and it had only one window near the ceiling, but the outside light was shut out by a piece of dark cloth hanging in front of it. Winn was in a small room towards the back of the building, and all the walls were thick concrete. There was a pile of miscellaneous tools and wires by the side of the far wall, a large sack full of something Winn couldn't see, and a laptop sitting on an old chair in the corner, plugged into an outlet in the wall. Underneath that chair was a large duffel bag full of money; a bag Winn recognized from a few days ago.

"So you _were_ the man I saw at the bank heist," Winn declared, waiting to hear his father try to deny it. His father just turned away from the TV wires he was messing with and looked at him. With the bright light shining from the ceiling, Winn could get a good look at his father as well. He definitely looked a lot older than the last time he had seen him; his hair had now turned completely gray/white, and he looked thinner than before, with hallow cheeks and gaunt eyes. "Just now figured that out, did you?" he said in response to Winn's earlier comment.

Winn felt his cheeks heat with slight embarrassment, then he became angry that his dad was trying to make him feel inferior by downplaying his intelligence.

Before he could come up with a clever comeback, his father stood and said, "aha," in a light voice, then turned on the old box TV he had just fixed. On the screen Winn recognized a recording of the news report from the day of the bank robbery - the day he had first seen his dad - and when the image switched to a shot of Supergirl talking to him, his dad paused it. "See? You know her. Or at least she knows you."

Winn remembered telling Kara that she didn't have to worry about being seen associating with him or any of her other friends as Supergirl, because no one payed that much attention to the news.

Apparently he was wrong.

"Just because I talked to her doesn't mean I know her!" Winn defended himself, but judging by the look his father was giving him he knew he wasn't convincing enough. _Okay, just calm down and think,_ Winn commanded himself. "But I'm curious...how would Supergirl mess up this 'grand plan' of yours?" Winn decided to ask, trying to subtly switch the conversation subject.

"Simple: she would return me to jail, and I can't go back there. I still have business to take care of." The look in his fathers eye's made Winn shudder, and want more than ever to get out of the creepy, abandoned building.

"And that 'business' is...?" Winn prodded, figuring he might as well try to get some answers while he was stuck there.

His father gave him a mocking smile. "Revenge, of course. But I will warn you: If you or anyone else tries to get in my way, I _will_ stop you, and make you regret it."

Winn tried not to imagine the extensive lengths his father would go through in order to make sure his plans were successful. "Okay," Winn said. "I have another question. I noticed you erased all your criminal profile records - why?"

"I see you did your research on me before you set out to hunt me down. Good to know that you still remember the important things I taught you," his father praised in a dry voice, one that made Winn suspect he didn't really mean it at all. "I erased my records so I could have a fresh start. Once I moved to another town, how would I manage to make a profit if I had to 'lay low' and stay hidden the whole time?"

"You wouldn't have to make a profit because you would just steal money," Winn pointed out, indicating with his head towards the pile of cash by the wall.

"Well, you see, I don't normally steal money. Thievery is for petty criminals. But I was fresh out of jail and needed a little cash to back me up with my plan before I can go back to what I do best."

"Which is...?" Winn asked.

"Making toys, of course," his father replied with a malicious glint in his eye, and turned his head slightly to look at the large sack against the wall - the one Winn couldn't figure out what was inside. He now had a sneaking suspicion of what it was.

"You needed money to make more of your nefarious toy-weapons so you can murder more people!" Winn exclaimed in horror.

"Not just any people though. The ones I have in mind deserve this fate, for treating me the way they did."

"Who- who are you planning to kill?" Winn asked in a small voice, almost afraid to hear his answer. His dad glanced at him before answering, "Some people I met at the jail. Don't worry, you don't know them."

"But-" Winn started to protest, feeling helpless, "if you kill more people you'll just go back to jail again, and they'll treat you even worse than before!"

"Oh, but I'm not planning on going back to prison. This time I'll be more careful, and cover my tracks. I learned from my mistakes the first time."

"You can't hide forever though," Winn said, and then added, "Supergirl will be able to find you."

His father smiled that same, cold smile as he had done before. "Which is exactly why I want you to help me."

·······

Winn could feel his muscles stiffening up from being tied up in the chair all day. He knew his wrists were probably red and raw from struggling against the ropes that bonded his wrists, but what hurt more was what his father had said to him earlier.

His dad wanted Winn to help him by telling him what Supergirl's weakness was.

Of course, Winn didn't tell him it was kryptonite. He could never betray Kara like that, but he could still feel the sting of the harsh words his father had yelled at him when Winn flat out refused to tell him anything.

Why his father wanted to know her weakness, Winn didn't know. But he had a sneaking suspicion that if his dad ever did find out, he would try to recreate it somehow and use it against her. For most people, Winn would've doubted that they could ever make a element as powerful and complex as kryptonite, but when it came to his dad, he wasn't so sure. His dad was truthfully one of the most brilliant people he ever knew. He was brilliant, but also insane. He used his mind for the wrong purposes, and that was something Winn had unfortunately experienced firsthand all those years ago.

Winn craned his neck to try and see around the wall blocking his father from view, but he was met with little success. His father had left Winn after a while of trying to interrogate him and went to work on something in the other room, but whatever it was, Winn knew it must've been pretty important, for he had spent almost the whole evening on it.

Winn leaned back in his seat and looked up. Judging by the lack of light coming through the one window in the building - even with the sheet in front of it - Winn could tell that it was almost night, or at least very close to it.

 _Will I ever get out of here?_ he thought, starting to feel hopelessness burn inside of his chest. He tried to take a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, but found it hard to breathe deeply with a gag covering his mouth. "If you're not going to talk to me, you might as well not talk at all," his dad had grumbled after Winn had refused to give him the information he needed, and then tied the gag on him - tightly. Apparently his father still felt no sympathy for him, and Winn for once didn't feel too disheartened by that. The day his father left him and went to jail was the day Winn tried to forget that he was even related to him. And he had almost been successful at forgetting too, until his dad had broken out of prison and popped back up into Winn's life.

 _If only I could find a way to get out of here, then I could forget that he even came into my life again_ , Winn thought desperately, and by looking around the room he was in he spotted a nail sticking out of the old dresser the TV was sitting on.

An idea sparked to life inside his head. His feet weren't tied...if only he could somehow walk over and balance the chair on his back, and manage to use the nail the cut the ropes on his hands, all without making any noise, then he could escape. It sounded nearly impossible to him. He tried to sigh again, but was met with resistance from the cloth covering his mouth. _What would Kara if she were here_? he suddenly asked himself. It only took him a minute to conjure up an answer. _She would do it, or at least try,_ he told himself, and then felt new resolve forming within him. _He_ could do it too. All he had to do was try.

Winn very carefully stood up, leaning forward so the chair was halfway on his back, so that it balanced out the weight of the chair since it was still strapped to his arms. No noise - good. Very slowly, Winn took a step, then another, and another. Step by step he slowly and carefully made his way across the room, taking his time and making sure as to not arouse suspicion from his father next door. Winn could hear the seconds ticking by, and was sure that any minute his father would turn the corner and catch him, but he didn't.

Winn didn't know how long it took him to cross the room to the old dresser, but by the time he got there he could feel his heart pounding in his chest and sweat droplets gathering on his forehead, more out of worry than of exhaustion.

 _Now comes the tricky part,_ he thought as he carefully bent his knees to get level with the nail, and started to slowly saw his way through the rope - still not making a sound. The nail was sharp on the one side, so it worked almost as well as a knife, and after a few tries Winn managed to cut through the first layer of rope. After a little while he seemed to get the hang of it more, and worked faster, still keeping quiet.

Finally Winn was down to the last strand. He grabbed the back of the chair with his hand so it wouldn't fall to the floor once the rope broke, and then cut the final piece. He felt the chair fall off his back but was able to keep a grip on it and silently set it on the ground, all the while ripping of the gag with his other free hand. Winn took a deep breath and was grateful that he didn't have to wear it any longer than he did, for it was definitely hard to breath with.

 _I'm free_! he thought fleetingly, then realized he still had to actually leave the building before he could go anywhere else. He was about to make a mad dash towards the exit door on the other side of the warehouse before he stopped and decided to think things through.

 _My dad will surely see me and try to stop me, so I've got to find something to distract him_ , he thought. Winn felt a smile form on his face when he suddenly remembered what was in the large bad behind him. He silently went to the bag and opened it, revealing various toys of every shape, color, and size. Only Winn knew they weren't toys.

He picked up a few and tried to remember back to his father's court trial, where his dad had been required to explain how each of his toy weapons worked. He picked up a large yoyo, and could see sharp, metal blades hiding inside it, just next to the string. He remembered this had been the weapon that his father had used the most to kill his victims. He shuddered, and set it aside. Next Winn found a small Russian looking doll that had a strange golden belt around its waist, and decided to set it aside as well, for he couldn't remember what it did. Then he came to a small bundle of army men, and Winn could remember exactly what _they_ did. The small boxes on their backs were actually charged with explosives instead of the parachutes they were supposed to have, and Winn knew that these were perfect for what he needed in order for his plan to work.

The charges would be set off as soon as they came into contact with something at a high speed, so all Winn had to do was throw them and they would explode. _If I were my father and I heard an explosion, what would I do?_ Winn speculated, and after a few more minutes of careful planning he decided to put his idea into action.

If his thinking was correct, as soon as his dad heard the toy go off he would run to check on Winn, then run to check the explosion. This is why Winn had to set the chair back up and tie the gag on again so he would look like he hadn't even moved. Then as soon as his father ran, he would bolt for the door.

Winn made sure the gag wasn't too tight as he put it on, and then he grabbed the bundle of army men, and threw them with all his might at the far end of the warehouse - opposite of the exit door. He dashed back to his chair and sat down, putting his arms behind him to make it look like he was tied up, and then heard the explosion go off.

It sounded like fireworks going off all over the building, and some were so loud Winn could feel them vibrating in his ears.

"WHAT IN THE-" he could hear his father scream, and just as Winn had suspected, he ran into the next room over, saw Winn was still sitting there, tied up, and took off towards the other end of the building where the toys had been set off.

As soon as the tail of his dad's coat disappeared out of Winn's sight, he sprang into action. He ripped off the gag and turned to run when he suddenly thought to look into the other room his father had been in all day. He quickly glanced in and saw the floor was covered with wires and tools with miscellaneous toy parts, plus his father's laptop.

And Winn's cell phone.

He quickly grabbed his phone and then deciding he had already wasted too much time, raced for the door. He ran as fast as he could and didn't look back once. It wasn't until he was out the door that he heard his father yell, "Wait-!" but it was already too late. Winn was finally free.

He didn't know how long he ran for, but when he finally stopped he doubled over gasping for breath _. I got away!_ he happily rejoiced in his head. _And I got my phone back._ He smiled despite his aching sides and hurting lungs, realizing that for the first time ever he had just outsmarted his father.

After Winn had caught his breath he walked towards the city -for it was easier to stay hidden in a crowd- and then slipped into an old restaurant joint that happened to be open at that time of night. He made his ways to the back of the restaurant towards a small booth and sat down, feeling the weight of the days events sag on his shoulders. After a few minutes of quiet he pulled out his phone and saw that he had almost fifteen text messages from Kara and that she had tried calling three times even after he had told her he was "completely fine." He smiled, and after a few seconds of thinking he decided to call her. _I need to let her know I'm all right_ , he told himself, but he was also wanting to hear her voice again - to remind him how there still were good people left in the world, and people who actually cared about others.

The other line had barely even rung once when Kara answered it. "Hello?" he heard her ask over a high whistling noise, which Winn soon deducted as wind. "Are you flying somewhere?" he asked her, making sure to keep his voice down in case of eavesdroppers.

"WINN!" he heard her shout, and suddenly the whistling was gone, signalling to Winn that she had landed somewhere. " _Where are you_?!"

"I escaped, and I'm at this little restaurant place about two blocks away from the big parking garage down Central Avenue, and-" the line suddenly went dead.

"Kara?" Winn asked, but she had hung up on him. He slowly set his phone down, confusion settling over him. Was she really that mad at him, for making her worry? He didn't think so, but it could've been possible.

His thinking was interrupted by the sound of the restaurant door opening and closing, and Winn looked up to see Kara standing in the doorway.

Winn stood up as well and locked eyes with Kara, but before he could say anything she had run to him and had wrapped her arms around him in a hug. She had her face buried into his shoulder, and her arms were wrapped so tightly around his neck he was surprised he could still breath. Truthfully, he had been slightly shocked at first. Kara had never hugged him before, at least not in this type of manner- all she had ever done was a side hug. But he quickly composed himself and slowly he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning forward slightly so that his cheek gently brushed against hers.

They stood like that for a few more seconds before Kara pulled back and looked at him, tears starting to gather in her eyes. "I was starting to think I'd never see you alive again!" she exclaimed. Winn nodded, not sure how to respond. Half of his attention was focused on what Kara was saying, the other half was focused on how close the two of them were standing. Kara still had her arms around his neck, though not quite as tight as before, and their faces were so close that Winn's nose almost touched hers. But before he could even come up with a response to her statement, she had released his neck and stepped back, almost a full step away from him.

"I'm okay, though. And this time I mean it," Winn told her, and watched as she nodded in relief.

"As soon as you told me where you were I came as soon as I could," she said. "I figured that the phone call you gave me this afternoon was just a ruse, and I've been searching for you all day. I'm just glad your okay." She gave him a small smile, and her eyes searched his face, as though she was looking for cuts or bruises he might've attained during his confinement.

"Why did he take you?" she finally asked after a few seconds.

Winn sighed. "It's another long story," he said.

"Well, I've got the time," responded Kara. "And plus, I need to know all that you can tell me about him, so that we can track him down and put him back in his rightful place."

Winn grinned. "Sounds like fun. When do we start?"

Kara sat down at the restaurant booth and motioned for him to sit beside her.

"We start now."


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Okay, so the Toyman episode was both the best and the worst episode yet for me - my poor heart could barely take any more emotions afterwards! But needless to say it was good, and as for these last few episodes... I'll just say that hopefully Kara will wake up one day and realize that the perfect guy was right in front of her the whole time :) Anyway my story is pretty much AU now, but I'm going to try and keep as close to the current story line as possible. So please review and I hope you enjoy :)**_

- **KARA** -

Her eyes never once left Winn's face as he described to her how he was kidnapped and how he got away. She was immediately enraged at hearing how Winn's father had treated him, and was saddened at the same time at hearing the helplessness in his voice when he told her his dad was trying to figure out her weakness - Kryptonite.

Kara was only slightly bothered by this, but didn't think it was too big of a deal. The only people who knew of her secret was the DEO, James, and Winn, and she was sure none of them would tell.

"...and I guess that's all I have to say," Winn finally finished talking. Kara thought for a moment before she reached across the table and took his hands in hers, waiting until he met her eyes. "Don't worry, Winn. We'll figure this all out, I promise. You were always there for me when I was dealing with my aunt, and now I'm going to be here for you."

He gave her a small smile and gently squeezed her hand, and Kara suddenly felt a weird feeling stir in the pit of her stomach.

 _I'm just hungry,_ she told herself. _I haven't eaten since lunch today._ But she couldn't get Alex's words out of her head, " _all that he wants from you is to be his friend...or maybe even something more."_

Kara quickly stood, not sure of what to make of what she was feeling. "It's after one o'clock. We should probably get some sleep if we're going to work tomorrow," she said to explain her sudden behavior. Winn nodded and stood, following her out of the restaurant, but then frowned as he looked at Kara and said, "I can't stay in my apartment. My dad knows where I live, so what's to say he won't try and come back again?"

Kara hadn't thought of that. "Umm..." she said, trying to think of a solution. From what Winn had told her, his dad sounded like someone who wouldn't make the same mistake again, and if he managed to get his hands on his son again, Winn would probably never get free.

"I'll just rent a hotel room," Winn finally said. "Hopefully my dad won't find me."

"But what if he does?" Kara asked, her mind filling with all of the worst possible scenarios of what might happen. "How can you protect yourself and get away if he takes you again?"

Winn just shrugged. "What else should I do then?"

They stood in silence for a moment, the street lamp casting an orange glow over their faces. "Well..." Kara started.

"Well what?"

An idea suddenly started to form in Kara's head, but she wasn't sure if Winn would go for it. She wasn't even sure if _she_ was fully on board with it yet either, but for the moment it seemed like the only way to keep Winn safe.

"My apartment has a sofa bed - the one in the living room - and if you wanted you could sleep there for the night. That way if your father somehow finds you I can be there to catch him," she said, carefully watching him for a reaction.

His face seemed to freeze all except for his eyebrows, which shot up to the top of his forehead. "Sl- sleep at your apartment?" he managed to stutter.

Kara laughed at his dumbfounded expression, which seemed to put Winn at ease. "Yes. You'd be safe there, on the sofa bed in the living room," she clarified as she smiled at him again.

She felt like she could almost see Winn mentally considering the idea before he finally said, "Well, if- if you really think that's the best option then sure, I guess. It'll save me money anyway if I don't have to rent a room."

"Who says you don't have to pay rent to me?" Kara teased, and Winn seemed to relax even more as he smiled gratefully at her. She had figured that he would take her up on the offer as soon as she mentioned it, but was amused at how he seemed so flustered at the idea.

"C'mon, let's go," Kara told him as they continued to walk down the sidewalk towards the road. They hailed a cab and arrived at their apartment building only a few minutes later.

At Winn's request, as soon as they reached their apartment floor she used her X-Ray vision to look through all the walls, making sure the Toyman wasn't hiding anywhere.

"All clear," Kara reported, and then proceeded to her room and unlocked the door.

"I'm going to get some things from my room first, and then I'll come back," Winn told her, and disappeared down the hall. True, Winn probably didn't have to stay in her living room since he lived only a hallway away from her, but Kara felt better knowing that he would be safe in her place rather than staying all alone in his at the far edge of the building.

She entered her room and quickly unfolded the sofa bed and got some extra blankets out of the closet by the time Winn got back.

"All right, you know your way around," Kara said to him. "Bathroom, sink, fridge," she pointed to each item as she said it. "And I'm just behind this wall," she gently rapped the wall with her knuckles.

Winn gave her a smile, then said, "Thanks Kara."

They way he said it and the way he smiled at her made Kara's stomach squirm again, just like it had back at the restaurant. "No problem. G'night," she said to him and then disappeared into her room, her mind reeling. _Why is this happening to me?_ she asked herself. _I haven't felt this way since...since the first day I met James!_

Why was she feeling this way towards Winn - of all people! Kara couldn't help but wonder, feeling her heart race with this new novelty. Was it because of what Alex said about how Winn really liked her, or just because she was tired and hungry? Kara crossed her room and looked at herself in the mirror, wondering what could've possibly made Winn fall for her. Her dark blonde hair was falling out of its ponytail and her glasses were slightly askew on her face. It could've been beauty, but Kara was certain there were tons of girls Winn had met that were prettier than her. It might've been personality, but before she was Supergirl she was just plain old boring Kara - hardly interesting at all, at least in her opinion.

 _What does he see in me?_ Kara wanted to know, but for the moment she shoved all those thoughts aside and got ready for bed, crawling under the covers only a few minutes later. As soon as her head hit the pillow she wanted to sleep, but she forced herself to stay awake for just a little bit longer so she could check the premises once again.

There was no sound - except for Winn's breathing in the other room - and all the hallways were empty.

 _He'll be safe with me,_ Kara told herself, and with that comforting thought she fell asleep.

·······

Though tired, Kara slept fitfully all night, not allowing herself to fall too deeply asleep for fear she wouldn't hear anyone if they tried to come in. Still yawning as she came into the kitchen after changing, Kara went to the cupboard and pulled out a few boxes of cereal. She suddenly did a double take as she turned around again and saw that Winn was gone. In fact, there was hardly any evidence that he had stayed the night. "Winn?" she called out. There was no answer.

Kara ran to the door and started to dash outside but ran head-first into Winn, who happened to be standing right there.

"Winn, what we're you doing? You scared me, I thought your father had taken you again!" she exclaimed all in one breath as she grabbed his arm to steady herself.

He looked ashamed. "Sorry, I went to get my laptop bag. I forgot to grab it last night."

Kara nodded and let out another breath. She always seemed to worry about her friends more than they worried about themselves. "Let's just get some breakfast on the way to the office, I don't feel like having cereal this morning," Kara told him as she re-entered her apartment and grabbed her purse. Winn agreed and they left the building.

They managed to get to the CatCo office right on time for Kara to deliver Cat's coffee to her, and Cat even surprised them by telling Winn she was glad to have him back.

"She even noticed I was gone?" Winn whispered to her as he sat down at his desk.

"Of course people notice when your gone, Winn," she told him, feeling her heart break slightly at his surprise of being acknowledged by others.

As if right on cue, James entered the room right then and walked over to them, sitting down on the edge of Winn's desk. "Hey Winn, glad your back," he smiled as he said it, then turned to Kara. "Where were you all yesterday afternoon? You're lucky Cat didn't need you, cause no one could find you anywhere."

"Oh, I...had an important job I needed to take care of first," she responded, looking at Winn out of the corner of her eye. James seemed to notice, for he frowned as he looked at the two of them. After a second he turned to Winn and said, "Were you really where Kara said you were yesterday?"

"Depends. Where did she say I was?"

"Out of town visiting family," James answered. Winn gave a bitter smile. "That's one way to describe it," he said so quietly only Kara could hear. "Yeah, that's true," Winn then said to James.

"But I'm guessing that's not the whole truth." James gave a smirk as he saw Kara and Winn exchange glances. More than once Kara wished that one of her kryptonian abilities was telethapy, so she could communicate with Winn and know whether or not he wanted James to know his secret.

Finally after a few awkward seconds of James staring at them, Winn finally answered, "Okay, so you're right."

"Good, that's one mystery solved. Now are you guys going to tell me what else it is that you're hiding?"

Kara glanced at Winn again. She knew he and James weren't the closest of friends, but she was sure he still trusted him - at least to some extent. Winn took a breath, and Kara guessed that he was preparing himself to reveal to James his secret - the one he had been hiding for eight years.

"So, you know that big jail break that happened a few days ago, in which the infamous murder, the Toyman, escaped?" he asked quietly, not quite meeting James's eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I heard about that. Why?"

"Do you know Toyman's real name?"

James paused for a moment, thinking. "Well, now that you mention it, wasn't his last name Schott, same as yours?"

"Winslow Schott Sr., my father," Winn said, keeping his face expressionless as he said it.

James's eyes got large and his mouth opened slightly. "Wait, so your father is-?" he stopped mid-sentence and quickly lowered his voice. "Your father's the Toyman? Didn't he, like, murder all these people and get a life sentence to prison or something?" If Kara could've inconspicuously stomped on James's foot, she would've.

Winn looked away, and muttered a barely audible "yes." Kara gently put a hand on his shoulder, trying to show him as much comfort as she could in that single gesture. "Kara can tell you the rest," Winn then said, and so Kara proceeded to tell James all that had happened. She left out most of the details of how Winn was interrogated by his father, and that he had stayed the night in her living room, but she did tell James about how Toyman was trying to recreate kryptonite.

"Huh," was all James said when she finished talking. He then turned to look at Winn, who was now messing with some rubber bands he had found on his desk. "Gosh, I'm really sorry Winn. How can I help?"

Winn didn't have time to answer for in that moment, Cat walked over and stared at the three of them, saying, "Do I _pay_ you to sit and chit-chat and gossip with each other? I. don't. think. so," she articulated each word. "I suggest that you three all get back to work, or else I won't pay you _period_." She glared at them with narrowed eyes and watched as they quickly dispersed from Winn's desk. Kara would always be amazed at the many moods and attitudes that Cat Grant could display within the course of a single day.

The three of them weren't able to meet again until lunch, where they all met up at Kara's favorite cafe, Noonan's, or the "sticky-bun place," as she liked to called it, to discuss plans of how to capture the Toyman.

"He's obviously anticipating an attack from you if he's trying to recreate kryptonite, or whatever he thinks your weakness is," said James in between bites of his sandwich. "But what's his real and original purpose for coming to National City?"

Winn shrugged. He seemed more comfortable talking about his father with James than before. "He said it was revenge," he answered. "Apparently he made quite a few enemies in jail, and now that he's free he plans to kill them."

The three ate in silence for the next few minutes, thinking about how they could foil Winn's father's plan. "Our best bet is to just find _him_ ," Kara finally said. "Then he couldn't carry out his plan. But if only he wasn't so good at hiding..."

They ate in silence again and watched the TV overhead, listening to the reporter talk about how Maxwell Lord claimed to have made a new discovery that could change his business forever. Kara rolled her eyes, letting out her disgust for him in a large sigh. She never trusted him, ever since he told her he was going to find out who she was one day and stop her.

"I wonder what he's up to," Winn mused. Kara knew Lord used to be one of his heroes, but lately Winn had told her he wasn't really a role model to him anymore.

"Probably something, but don't you think it's strange that they won't announce what "discovery" he's made if it's so important?" James asked to no one in particular. Winn and Kara just shrugged.

The rest of their lunch went by quickly and they soon returned to work, planning to meet again in their secret office once they finished work for the day.

As she was returning to Cat's office, Kara's phone started to ring and she quickly answered it, seeing as it was Alex.

"Why are you calling me now? You know my lunch break is over," Kara said to her as a matter of greeting.

"Something terrible has happened," Alex's voice was calm but very serious. Kara stopped walking and responded, "What happened?"

There was a pause, then, "Come as quickly as you can, I have to go," then she hung up.

Kara quickly turned to Winn, who was just getting back to his desk. "Cover for me," she said to him, and quickly changed into her Supergirl outfit and flew out to the DEO. Her flight was short, but the whole time Kara couldn't help but worry about what could make Alex so upset. Alex greeted her as soon as she landed. "Okay, tell me what happened," Kara commanded.

Before her sister could even open her mouth another voice responded for her. "Maxwell Lord happened," came the deep voice of Hank Henshaw. Kara turned around to see the head of the DEO walking towards her, a deep scowl on his face. Kara remembered when they used to never trust each other, and was glad that hey had now gotten over that barrier.

"What do mean he 'happened'?" Kara asked, crossing her arms over chest. Hank beckoned with a hand and she and Alex followed him towards the main computer server.

"I mean this," he said as he pressed a button, and immediately the screen pulled up a large chart of information. Kara stared at it for a second before she started to understand what it was. "Is this a chart of all your computer data?" she asked.

"Yes. This was last week," Hank informed her. "And this," he pressed a button, "is now." A new chart pulled up, but with only half the data and information.

"Where did it all go?" Kara questioned, and this time Alex answered. "Maxwell Lord had never trusted us, me more than anyone." She took a breath, and Kara could see her thinking about what she was going to say next. "The last time we met - which was not too long ago- he must've...bugged me, or something, and figured out how to hack into our database."

Kara felt her heart speed up. _Maxwell Lord now has over half of the DEO's secret information_? she panicked. Alex continued talking,"...of course, half of the information he stole was in code, so he doesn't know what it says, but if he ever found someone who could figure it out...that's when we'll be in trouble."

"Don't you guys have backups on hard drives or something?" Kara exclaimed.

"He stole the backups of our backups, too." Hank told her, glowering as he said it.

"This was the big 'discovery' he made, wasn't it?" she said, referring back to the news report she had seen earlier. Hank and Alex nodded.

"What information was it?" Kara finally asked, once she managed to accept what Lord had done. Alex and Hank glanced at each other, their expressions telling Kara all she needed to know. "Was it about the Fort Rozz escapees? Or your guys's technology? Or"

"Kara." Hank interrupted. It wasn't very often he called her by her first name, so Kara immediately became quiet. "The information he stole was about _you_."

Kara felt her already racing heart suddenly come to a stop. " _Me_?" she asked again, although she heard perfectly the first time. _That means he could figure out who I really am, my weakness, my family-_

"What can we do to get it back?" she quickly said, stopping her thoughts from going any further.

Hank and Alex both looked at each other again, and then Alex said, "We play the same game he did. We steal it back."

·······

"So let me get this straight- Maxwell Lord hacked into the DEO and stole their secret information on you, and now we have to hack into his data system and steal what he hacked from the DEO's data system before he can decrypt the data he stole from the DEO?"

Kara nodded. "Yes- I think," she responded to Winn, who stood next to James in their hidden office in the CatCo building.

"Well... we broke into Lord's facility once, what's to say we can't do it again?" James said optimistically.

"But we don't need to actually _physically_ break in, we just need to hack into his computer," Kara pointed out.

"And by 'we' you mean Winn, right?" James asked. "Cause I'm terrible at tech stuff."

Kara turned and glanced at Winn. She hated having to ask him to do this, especially since he was already dealing with his dad - another problem they still had to solve - but Winn readily complied. "Sure, I can do it," he told her, and immediately started to work on it.

"Well," James said, standing up and stretching, "I think I'm going to go if you don't need my help. I promised to meet Lucy for dinner," he explained to them.

"Oh okay. Have fun," Kara told him and smiled, and for once the smile was actually genuine. After James quickly departed, Kara wandered over to Winn, who was sitting in front of one of the computers and pressing lots of buttons. She watched him silently for a minute before she said, "How do you even do that?" She didn't bother hiding the note of awe in her voice.

Winn gave her a smirk. "Lots and lots of practice. And also technology just comes easily to me." Kara nodded and then decided to leave him to his work, but only half an hour later he turned around and announced, "Got it."

Kara whipped her head up from the paper she was working on and hurried over to him. "What do you mean? Like, you got all the information back?"she asked incredulously.

Winn nodded, a smile spreading on his face. "All of it. Even the backups that he stole. And I downloaded all the info to my phone too, just in case it ever gets lost again," he told her, holding up his phone as he said it.

Kara looked at him in wonder. "Winn, this is- this is incredible!" she gave a laugh of disbelief. "You realize you just probably saved my life for like, the hundredth time?"

Winn smiled and stood. "I'm just glad I could do it for you." His words suddenly touched Kara, and all at once she realized how much Winn really _did_ do for her, and how much she depended on him. "Winn, you are amazing. What would I ever do without you?" she said to him truthfully. He looked down and blushed slightly, but still smiled. Kara felt her heart beat faster, and for once, she didn't try to suppress it.

·······

 _This building wasn't nearly as big as the old warehouse, but it would work fine for his plans. Now all he had to do was start building his weapon..._

 _He knew he had already made a huge mistake in letting his son get away, but that was just one less thing he had to worry about now. His son would never find him on his own, at least not unless he wanted him too, but he wasn't ready to reveal himself - not yet. He still needed more time._

 _But even time wasn't helping him get what he wanted, or what he needed. What he needed was Supergirl's weakness, so he could carry out his plan, but he was discovering that finding her weakness was nearly impossible._

 _That was until he got a mysterious document on his phone._

 _Linking his sons phone to his was quite possibly one of the most brilliant things he could've thought of, at least in his mind. He had done it during his sons short stay with him at the old warehouse, and now every time his son called or texted someone, he could listen in. Every picture, download, or website his son activated from his phone, he could see too._

 _And now his son downloaded some strange document onto his personal device, so naturally, the document was downloaded to his phone too._

 _It was all in code, but it was nothing he couldn't crack. It only took him an hour at the most to decode all the information, and when he finally did, he was rewarded greatly._

 _"So," he whispered under his breath. "Supergirl is actually Kara Danvers. And her weakness is Kryptonite." He smiled. This was exactly what he needed._

 _"And it's all thanks to you, son," Toyman chuckled, and with the new information he had just attained, he started to build._


	8. Chapter 8

- **WINN** -

Winn never thought he would get so much pleasure out of ruining the plans of one of his former lifetime heroes.

But he did, and he could feel the triumph resounding inside of him as he watched a rather grumpy, defeated looking Maxwell Lord on the screen above him.

"...And this big 'discovery' you've been talking about, can you give us any more information on what it is?" asked one of the reporters interviewing him. Lord pursed his lips and frowned, his countenance clearly stating he did not want to discuss it. "It turns out it was all a mistake - just a fluke," he finally said. "There is no 'discovery' anymore."

 _Ha,_ Winn thought, a smile slowly spreading across his face. _That's what you get for trying to mess with Supergirl and her friends._ Everyone at the DEO - plus Winn and James - knew that this was just a cover-up for what really happened, which was that Lord had lost the information he had stolen, but to anyone else, they would just think he was talking about a prototype failure or an experiment malfunction.

"The DEO still can't thank you enough," came the voice of Kara from behind him. Winn jumped in his chair, not knowing she was standing right there. Kara smiled and gave a laugh at the startled expression on his face. "You're too easy to scare," she joked with him.

"Well, sometimes a little adrenaline rush can be good for you," Winn said in response, continuing their playful banter. Kara rolled her eyes and then proceeded to Cat's office, most likely to deliver a coffee or to schedule more appointments with some large company.

Winn couldn't help but watch her as she walked away, his eyes entranced on the way her hair seemed to glow when the sun hit it just right, creating a golden hue upon her head. He smiled to himself and turned back to his work, wondering once again how lucky he was to have Kara as his friend.

The morning continued on normally, yet by the time lunch came Winn felt the happiest he had been in a long time. Earlier that morning, Alex had called him and personally thanked him on behalf of the DEO for getting their cryptic information back, and told him that their director thought he had a real talent and wanted to know if they could call on him in the future, if needed. Winn of course agreed, and couldn't help but feel a swell of pride that a top secret alien organization wanted _his_ help on future projects or assignments. Then after that, Cat needed his help and actually remembered his name. It was a small thing, but it still made Winn feel appreciated. And of course, there was Kara. Just her smile and happiness seemed to radiate off of her and affect everyone in the building, making Winn feel ten times as happy than he had been before.

But as lunch came around, Kara - being Cat Grant's assistant - couldn't find time to take a break yet, so Winn went with James to get a quick meal for both themselves and her. He found that he and James actually got along rather well, and that James was really a lot nicer than he had first anticipated. _If only Kara saw him as just a friend though..._ his wistful thoughts trailed off.

As they were walking back to the office with the bags of Chinese take-out in their arms, an alarm went off from a few blocks away, and not a moment after that a small explosion was set off. Immediately the two men ran to the sound of the commotion and saw that it had been the small science lab belonging to the local college that had been broken into. James took out his camera and started snapping pictures of the crime scene, and just a few seconds later Supergirl arrived. Winn could see a look of surprise pass over her face as she saw her two friends standing nearby, but she quickly masked her demeanor and turned towards the missing wall in the building.

It was obvious that the culprit had gotten away, but Winn knew Kara would still be able to catch them as soon as she got the information she needed. She turned to the young college student who had been in the building at the time of the robbery, and she gently helped him off the floor and to a seat nearby. The man's white lab coat was covered in black dust and soot from the small explosion, and with wide eyes and shaking hands he exclaimed, "He j-just barged in here and pointed a gun at me!"

"Who?" Supergirl asked gently, her eyes surveying the scene.

"I-I didn't see his f-face," the man stuttered. "But he was d-dressed in all black and then he t-told me to give him some chemicals and vials, and I d-did but then I sounded the emergency alarm and he pulled out a green figurine and threw it at the wall and it-it exploded and he escaped!"

The man was wringing his hands together as he talked, and then he suddenly shouted, "I mean, why didn't he just use the _door_! Why blow up a wall?!"

The college student was noticeably distressed, so the police took him away once they arrived and promised him that he would be fine, but Winn wasn't paying attention to what the police were doing anymore. He didn't even notice the officers pushing him and the other pedestrians back as they tapped the crime scene. He was just focusing on one thing the man had said.

 _A little green figurine_.

Winn was sure he knew what it really was. It was an army man, who could've only belonged to one person.

His father was on the move again.

·······

"Are you sure?" asked James for what felt like the hundredth time already.

"Yes, I _know_ it was my father. He has little explosive army men that he uses, and what else could a 'green figurine' have been?" Winn told him as the two stood by Kara's desk, waiting for her to return from the crime scene.

"Well, it could've been...green dynamite?" James asked, arching an eyebrow doubtfully as he said it.

"The explosion was too small for dynamite," Winn responded simply, checking his watch again. Kara would be back any minute now.

"But why does your dad need chemicals and science stuff? You don't think he's actually trying to create Kryptonite, do you?" James inquired quietly, his eyes darting around the room to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation.

This was actually what Winn _had_ been thinking, but he didn't say it. How could his father even remotely know what Kara's weakness could be?

 _Unless he somehow found out like Maxwell Lord almost did_ , Winn though _t. But the DEO would know if their system had been hacked into again, wouldn't they?_ Winn felt uneasy as he pictured all the ways his father could've somehow found out his best friend's weakness. His father could hack into anything, and he could've erased all evidence of him having even entered a computer system.

 _Just like him_.

Suddenly Winn thought back to when he was a little boy, almost fifteen years ago, and to the conversation his father had had with their neighbor.

 _"And what do you like to do in your spare time, Winslow?" asked the kind Mrs. Manderly, as she watered her flowers next to their fence._

 _Winn had looked down rather shyly, but his father spoke up for him. "He likes making toys and learning about computers, as I do." His father squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. Winn nodded his assessment to their neighbor, letting her know that what his father said was true._

 _"Ah, I see," Mrs. Manderly smiled. "Like father, like son. You'll grow up to be just like your father, I'm guessing," she had said to Winn. "You already look like him, and I'm sure people will think you're practically the same person when you grow up."_

 _Winn had smiled in reply as his father laughed. "Probably," he agreed..._

Winn shook his head slightly to rid the memory from his brain. He was _not_ like his father. True, they might look similar and be good at the same things, but Winn was not insane. He was not a killer.

Just then Kara arrived. She was straightening her glasses and smoothing out her shirt as she hurried over to them. "I didn't find the bomber," she started out by saying. "But I think I might know who it is." She hesitated for a brief moment, her eyes flickering over to Winn.

"It's okay. We already know it was my dad," he told her. Kara looked at him with a bewildered expression on her face. "How?" she asked.

"We may not have super-hearing like you, but we _can_ hear," said James.

"We overheard the man talking to you and what he saw. We figured out it was my father when he said he threw a green figurine at the wall and it exploded," Winn clarified. "Only my father has toy weapons like that."

Kara nodded, pursing her lips. Winn felt as though he could almost see her brain thinking, trying to grasp a solution to all of this. "And as for the science lab, do you think he was...?" she trailed off.

"Yes," both James and Winn said in unison, knowing that she was referring to the possibility of Toyman trying to recreate kryptonite. All Kara did was nod, her eyes staring at the floor, as though she was trying to bore a hole into it.

 _Which she can, if she wanted to,_ Winn mused to himself.

"KIRA!" came the sudden loud call from Cat Grant. "I have to go, we'll talk tonight, okay?" Kara said quickly, and then without waiting for a response, disappeared into their boss's office.

As Winn turned back to his own desk, all the happiness that he had felt from earlier that day dissipated, all because of his father. Winn felt a sudden rush of anger. _He's ruined everything for me! He's the one who caused me misery for most of my life, and then once I think he's gone for good he comes back and messes things all up again_! Winn clenched a pencil in his fist as he glared angrily at the blank computer screen, as though the computer was the fault of all of his problems. Winn knew that the main source of his anger was mainly because of the things his father was doing, and that they couldn't catch him, but he was determined not to let his anger consume him, for if it did - he really WOULD start to turn into his father.

 _We need a plan_ , thought Winn as he released the pencil from his death grip. _We need a plan to catch him once and for all, so that he can't do any more damage than what's already been done._

And so for the rest of the afternoon Winn worked on a plan, and by the time work was over for the day he felt as though he had devised the perfect one.

As soon as Winn, Kara, and James left the office they headed over to Kara's place and Winn told them his idea.

"So," he started. "I did some research this afternoon - on kryptonite." Kara paused before she bit into the pizza they ordered. "How? Did you hack into the DEO?" she asked, looking rather concerned.

"Not exactly the DEO, but a few other government files," he admitted. "But it's fine, I'm not going to get caught, trust me," Winn quickly added as Kara's eyes grew as wide as tennis balls. "But I did find some valuable information regarding the components and chemical structure of the substance."

"Wait," James interrupted. "If this information is just hidden away on the internet, no wonder your dad found out what Kara's weakness is!"

Kara shook her head at James's assumption. "That's not the problem we're wondering about. What we're wondering is how he could've found out that my weakness is Kryptonite in the first place."

"Exactly," Winn agreed. "And as I was saying, I'm afraid my dad _did_ find out about your weakness, because the substances that he stole from the lab? I looked them up and they can all be found in the base structure of kryptonite."

A silence enveloped the three of them as they realized what this means. Kara broke the quiet atmosphere by saying, "Well, then what's your plan?"

Winn smiled, and turned his laptop around so that the other two could see the spreadsheet he had pulled up. "I have a plan to trap him. Look at all the components that make up the substance of kryptonite," he pointed to a list on the left side of the screen. "Now, I've researched all of these, 'ingredients,' you could call them, and I discovered that one of the main contributing alloys is a rare earth substance called _didymium_."

"What's that?" Kara asked.

"It's a mixture of the elements praseodymium and neodymium, and it helps to dilute bright lights," Winn clarified.

"Um...okay. Cool," James said after a few seconds, but then asked, "So how does 'didymium' contribute to your plan?"

"Like I said earlier, it's a rare alloy and can be hard to get, but I found one place in town that makes special glasses containing didymium - they're extremely expensive glasses, by the way- and I figured that if my dad did his research right, he would be looking for didymium next, which means-"

"Which means that he will go to the shop to steal the glasses to retract the didymium out of them, and we can ambush him there!" Kara finished with a smile lighting up her face.

"Exactly!" Winn returned her smile.

"That's a good plan and all, but are you sure he'll go there to get the alloy he needs?" James asked.

"It's the only place around here that has it, so I assume so," Winn said. Then he proceeded to explain the rest of his plan. "But since we can't be in the store around the clock, I tapped into their security cameras so we can keep an eye out for my dad, and I also mapped out the closest routes to the store from the CatCo building and your apartment," he said to Kara, "so that you can get there as quick as you can when he comes."

Kara and James then proceeded to look over the information Winn had found. Finally after a few minutes James said, "Well, it's the only plan we got, so let's go for it." Kara nodded in agreement.

"Great," Winn smiled happily. "Now let's eat before the pizza gets cold."

·······

The next day Winn watched the video camera constantly. He kept it open the whole time he was working, with one eye on the camera, the other on his work, but his father never came.

"He's probably just waiting until tonight, when it's dark and there's not as many people," James told him, but even that night, as Winn laid on the couch bed in Kara's apartment (she insisted that he stay with her until they were certain it was safe), his father did not come.

"Wow, you look tired," Kara greeted him that morning.

Winn sighed. "I was up all night watching that video camera, making sure my father didn't break in and steal those glasses."

Kara gave him a sympathetic smile and squeezed his hand. He noticed that she had been taking his hand a lot lately - not that he minded, of course- but wondered if she was just doing it out of pity or because of her own feelings.

He hoped it was the latter.

They both had a quick breakfast and then headed to the CatCo office to endure another mundane day. Winn fixed a few computers, James took a few photos, Kara saved a few lives, and Cat yelled at a few employees. Everything was completely normal.

And it was like that the day after, and the day following that. Winn was starting to think that his friends had lost faith in their plan, and frankly, he was starting to as well.

 _He must've found another source of didymium_ , Winn thought glumly, which in turn put them back to the beginning of their goal again - how to catch the Toyman.

But as Winn reached his mouse across the computer screen to exit out of the security camera for the glasses shop, he felt his heart stop at what he saw.

A man was entering the building, dressed in all black, with a large empty sack over his shoulder. He didn't look up towards the camera, but he didn't need to. Winn knew who it was.

His father had finally come.

 _ **A/N: Just a little side note about the didymium part, it actually is a real alloy that's supposedly rare, but I had to look up the information before I wrote about it, so I'm not an expert by any means. If you're someone who actually knows a lot about alloy and chemicals and such, sorry if my facts are off :/**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: First of all, I'm so so sooo sorry I haven't updated in forever, but I promise you this story isn't over yet! And even through all the ups and downs they've had, I still have hope that one day Winn and Kara could still be cannon :)**_

 _ **Thanks for reading and please review! :D**_

- **KARA** -

Kara knew something had happened as soon as she turned and saw Winn's frantic hand motions. He pointed to his computer screen, to himself, and then out the window. The motions he gave were quite vague, but Kara could also hear him whispering under his breath, "My dad's at the shop!" and immediately knew she had to go.

"Uh, Miss Grant? I need to go...um...call the caterers for your promotion event on Saturday, to make sure they...uh...still remember to bring food," she said rather quickly and then dashed out of the office before Cat could ask questions. Kara gave Winn a small nod as she passed, signaling that she understood, and then ran up to the roof to change and take off.

She followed the path Winn had given her to the glasses shop going as fast as dared, and arrived within a few seconds. Her feet hit the tile floor with a loud thud, causing the Toyman to turn around and notice her. Kara expected him to be nervous or even surprised to see her there so quickly, but all he did was smile and give a small, throaty chuckle. It unnerved her, but she was determined not to let it show.

"So you finally caught up with me, huh? Took you long enough," he said as he slowly started to pace towards her.

"You've got a lot of nerve trying to provoke me, but it won't work. I'm here to take you back to where you belong: in prison," Kara said as fiercely as she could. Winn's father laughed again, raising the hairs on the back of Kara's neck. How could this man be the father of one of the nicest, sweetest people she knew? "You think of me as just another petty criminal," he said, "but I'm afraid you've underestimated me. You'll find I'm full of surprises."

 _He's too calm_ , she thought. _He must have some sort of escape plan or something._

The Toyman continued to stare at Kara, his unblinking eyes trained on her face. Kara knew she should grab him while she had the chance, but a sixth sense was telling her that's what he wanted her to do, so instead she waited.

"I know what you're trying to do," she told him, figuring maybe she could get him to spill some answers while she waited. "You're recreating kryptonite."

Toyman nodded, an amused look shinning in his eyes. "Yes, I see my son has helped you figure that out... _Kara_."

Kara started, and then quickly tried to regain her calm composure, but it was too late - the Toyman had seen her reaction. "So you _are_ Kara Danvers! How delightful."

Kara decided to drop the facade all together. "How do you know my name?" she whispered, a part of her angry, the other part curious.

"I told you I'm full of surprises, and secrets. I know all about you and your family. I know how you came to live with the Danvers when you were only twelve years old, and that you have an adopted sister named Alexandra - Alex, for short - and she works with a very special organization. One dedicated just for aliens. What's it called again? Oh yes, the DEO," he smiled at Kara's open shock.

"How do you know all of this?" Kara demanded, worry coursing through her veins. If he really _did_ know all of her secrets, he held a huge advantage over her - one that could turn deadly depending on his motives. "A wise man never spills all his secrets at once," he responded in a light voice. "Oh, and Miss Danvers, there is probably something else you need to know..."

Kara waited, glaring at him as intensely as she could without using her heat vision. She took a step closer, but still didn't grab him yet; once he finished his little speech, that's when she would take him down.

"See this little device here?" he pulled a small black box out of his pocket. "This is a remote, and a very special one at that. Want to know what it does?"

Before Kara could even take a breath to answer he was talking again. "It controls these lovely little dolls I've constructed. They're quite detailed really, with satin hair and carved wooden features, but it's what's on the _inside_ that is most interesting. You see, there is also a box -similar to the one I am holding- inside these dolls, and once I press this little button here," he gently pressed the raised button on the box, "they will emit a high frequency...scream, you could say, that will shatter any type of glass within an eight-hundred foot radius. Seeing as I've just activated my clever inventions, you probably have about...oh, I don't know, one minute to locate and prevent them from releasing the sound waves?" He gave a hollow grin.

"Kara, he's not bluffing. I've hacked into the city's traffic light video monitors and these dolls are all over town. If they go off...think about all these buildings made of glass!" Winn's voice suddenly came over her ear speaker.

Kara didn't need him to say anymore. She could only imagine all that would happen if she couldn't stop these shrieking dolls in time. She turned back to the Toyman just so she could say, "I'll find you again," before she quickly took off to the skies and started to quickly search the city.

"Winn, help me! Where are they?" she called to him.

"You should be able to detect them using your supervision. They're emitting a strong heat force as they're charging up to produce high enough sound waves to shatter the glass, so look for anything with a stronger than average heat pulse."

Kara flew straight up until she could get a full view of the city, then started scanning it, letting her kryptonian powers take over. "No pressure Kara, but you have about twenty seconds," James's voice suddenly said, and Kara knew that he must be with Winn as well.

And both of them were in a mostly-glass building.

After about only a second Kara was able to pick up the heat traces of the dolls, and immediately flew to grab them, picking up fifteen in all. "I've got them - now I just need to find a place to put them where the sound can't affect anything." A sudden idea popped into her head. "I've got it!" she shouted, and shot up into the sky, going higher and higher.

"Kara! What are - going up instead - easier if you-" Winn's voice was breaking up over the speakers as Kara continued to go higher, until she was no longer in the earth's atmosphere anymore.

She stared out at the immense blackness that surrounded her, spotted with occasional dots of light - stars from another solar system - and took a deep breath. She felt suddenly rather calm and peaceful in the middle of all the nothingness, and she gently released all the dolls she was holding. She watched as they suddenly glowed, emitting even more energy than before, and then dissolved into nothingness. She waited a few more minutes to enjoy the quiet of space, but then returned back to earth to encounter her very confused friends.

" _Where did you go?_ " Winn whisper-shouted at her when she re-entered the CatCo building, James right behind him.

"I went into space," she answered simply. "Sound can't travel in space."

"I _know_ that, but why go all the way up there? You could've just dumped them in the bay underneath the bridge! Sound doesn't travel well in water either, you know."

Kara knew he had a point - it would've probably been much simpler to dispose of the toys in water, but she had missed the strange comfort being in space brought her. It reminded her of her old home on krypton.

"You're right," she finally conceded, "but it still worked." She looked around at all the large, floor length glass windows and doors surrounding them. "And thankfully, too." She tried to get the image of glass falling on the city, injuring and killing people, out of her head as she turned back to James and Winn. "But how did he set up all those dolls without anyone noticing? Without _us_ noticing?"

James shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose people didn't think toys were too suspicious. I mean, they're toys everywhere around town..." he trailed off, shrugging again.

"Only my father can take something as innocent as a toy and twist it until it becomes evil," Winn mumbled in a dark tone, staring intently at the ground. Kara gently reached out a hand and intertwined her fingers with his, giving his hand a quick squeeze of comfort. Winn glanced up at her and gave a grateful smile, one which she reciprocated. Kara was suddenly aware of James staring at them, a bemused look on his face, and she felt her cheeks flush as she quickly pulled her hand away.

"Um, there was also another matter I need to talk to you guys about," Kara brought up, fixing her glasses as she avoided both of the boy's eyes. "Its about-" she stopped when she saw Cat staring at her intently from her office, a foot tapping against the carpet impatiently. "Uh, I'll tell you guys later," she mumbled and hurried over to her boss.

"Finally, Kira, you've been gone for almost half an hour - much longer than the time needed for just a phone call." She arched a carefully penciled eyebrow and then turned around and sat back down at her desk. "Now, as I had been saying before I was so rudely interrupted..." she continued on about different schedules and meetings while Kara tried her best to stay at rapt attention, but found her mind drifting back to her encounter with the Toyman. _Where is he?_ she thought. _How can I stop him?_ and most importantly, _How does he know about my secret identity and my family?_

·······

Those questions plagued Kara's mind for the rest of the day, distracting her from her normal routines. She found herself having to force herself to concentrate on Cat's words as her boss gave her tasks and other jobs to do, and finally when she was dismissed for the day, she decided to go straight to the DEO to tell her sister what had happened.

Her feet hit the dirt ground as she landed outside the alien compound, and she quickly strode into the large building, nodding or giving an occasional greeting to other agents she was passing. She made a beeline straight towards the back of the compound where the training rooms were, knowing her sister was sure to there, and sure enough found Alex instructing another agent on how to throw a proper punch. Kara waited for a few minutes before she cleared her throat, signaling to the two that she was also in the room.

"Kar- uh, Supergirl!" Alex quickly corrected herself, giving the other agent a sideways glance. Kara figured the agent Alex had been training must've been a new recruit, because she was suddenly looking at Supergirl with awe; a starstruck look on her face, as though she had never seen her before.

Kara gave the younger girl a smile before turning back to Alex. "I was wondering if I could...discuss some important matters with you," she finally decided on saying. Alex seemed to be able to read the urgent expression on her sister's face, because she nodded curtly and said, "Ruben, you're dismissed for today. We'll practice again tomorrow."

The other agent nodded and quickly scurried towards the exit, casting back one more glance at Supergirl before she disappeared through the door.

As soon as the door closed, Alex turned to Kara, her face a mask of concern. "What happened?" she demanded.

Kara just sighed and sat down at the edge of the training mat. "It's the Toyman. I had a little encounter with him today." She then proceeded to explain how she almost caught him, but then how he had set off the shrieking dolls all over town and how she had to let him escape again. Alex listened to her story without interrupting, and once she was finished she sat down next to Kara and gently put a hand on her knee. "It's not your fault he got away, and you did great by saving the city. Don't worry, you'll get him next time," she tried to comfort her, but Kara stood up and started pacing.

"That's not the main reason I'm so worried though."

Alex regarded her with a strange look. "What is it then?"

Kara turned and looked Alex in the eyes. "He knows about me." It came out in an whisper. "And he knows about you, and mom, and the DEO, and-"

"Wait," Alex quickly interrupted, standing up to pace like Kara was doing. "Winn's father knows all of this? But how?"

Kara flew out her arms in exasperation. "I don't know! He just...knew!"

Alex stopped pacing and started at the ground for a moment. "Do you think...Winn might've told him?"

Kara felt her jaw fall open slightly. _Winn? He would never tell!_ she thought defiantly. "No. Absolutely not," Kara finally responded in a tone that made it clear that that option was not open for discussion. "Winn would never give in. He's not like his father at all, and he never would betray me."

Alex raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst, and Kara suddenly felt a small blush creep up on her cheeks, although she wasn't sure why. Thankfully though, Alex didn't pursue the subject.

"Alright then, what other options do we have?"

Kara thought for a moment before a sudden idea sprang into her head. "He could be working with Maxwell Lord!" she exclaimed. "Max stole the information, and he could've shared it with him, and -"

"-and as much as I would love to have a reason to arrest Lord, he didn't do it Kara," Alex gently pointed out. "First of all, Max never even opened the data he stole before we got it back, and second, although in my opinion he is evil, it isn't his type of style to work with a murderer. He wants to save the city too, remember?"

As much as Kara hated to admit it, she knew Alex was right. She sighed and felt her shoulders slump slightly. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Alex looking at her with concern and pity. "Hey, don't worry about it now. This will just give us more incentive in order to hunt him down." Kara slowly nodded, and Alex pulled her into a hug. "Now, how about you go home and get some rest. You look exhausted," she said kindly, and then walked her out to the exit before bidding her goodbye.

Kara left the DEO compound and returned to her apartment only to find Winn waiting there, phone in hand and staring out the window. "Winn, what are you doing?" she asked as she pulled the door closed behind her. Winn jumped at the sound of her voice, but turned around with a relieved look on his face. "It's okay, I found her," he said into the phone, and then nodded at something the other person said before he hung up. "That was James," he clarified. "We couldn't find you anywhere, and you weren't answering your phone."

Kara pulled out her phone and realized she had turned it off. "Sorry," she apologized. "I had to talk to Alex at the DEO, and you guys were still working when I got off, so I just headed straight there. I didn't realize I was gone for so long." She felt slightly guilty for having caused them to worry, but she figured they would understand.

Winn shook his head, signaling to her that she was forgiven. "It's all right. I just worry a lot, especially since my dad is still on the loose..." he trailed off, averting his eyes from her and looking out the window again.

Kara walked up to him and took his hand in hers. "Don't worry, we'll find him, and the next time we do, we'll catch him for sure," she reassured him, almost exactly like Alex had done for her. Then, before she could loose the courage, she leaned forward and gently kissed him on the cheek. She leaned back and smiled when she saw the surprised yet pleased look he was wearing, as well as the faint blush slowly spreading across his face.

It was then that she remembered that she needed to tell him about how his father knew her secret identity -along with all her other personal secrets- but seeing how stressed he was over the while ordeal, she decided it could wait until later.

"C'mon," Kara said to him instead. "Let's not worry about it tonight, okay?"

Winn nodded, his eyes tenderly holding her gaze as she looked at him. "Okay," he repeated. "But tomorrow, we're going to find him. This has lasted long enough."

·······

True to his word, the very next morning Winn found his father.

Kara had been awakened by a sudden pounding on her bedroom door only to find Winn rush in, tablet in hand, all the while shouting, "Kara, we've got him! He's been sighted downtown," as well as calling out the street names and addresses he was on or nearby.

Kara managed to roll out of bed and immediately take off to the location Winn had directed her to and found the Toyman - just as Winn had said she would.

Kara had expected the criminal to be in the middle of some dastardly deed or robbing a store of some sort, but was surprised to find him just walking down the alley behind a cluster of buildings, completely nonchalant as though he had done nothing wrong.

 _He has another plan,_ Kara thought with dread. She slowly approached him, hovering a few feet above the ground, and called out to him, "What trick do you have up your sleeve this time?"

The Toyman turned around and looked at her in mock surprise. "Supergirl! How pleasant it is to see you on this fine morning," he said. Kara quickly used her supervision to scan him for weapons of any sort, but came up with nothing, which she immediately found as odd. _Something is definitely wrong then_ , she told herself. _Why else would he let himself be found without any sort of toy-weapon to help him escape?_

Winn's father seemed to know what she was thinking, for he immediately started smiling the cold smile she had already seen too many times. "Yes, I am completely defenseless right now. But I have a feeling you won't arrest me just yet. I have too much information you need to know before you lock me up for good." He regarded Kara with a fixed gaze, as though daring her to ask what what type of information he had. Kara tried to suppress the growing curiosity that was building up inside her, but she finally gave in. "Alright. What information do you have that I so _desperately_ need?" she asked, not bothering to keep the annoyed tone out of her voice.

His smile seemed to grow even colder as he took a step closer. "How about," he started slowly, "the information that your foster mom will be dead if you don't give me what I want?"


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: I feel like I say this a lot, but I'm so so soooo sorry it's been soooo long since I've updated, and hopefully I'll be updating it more often now that I'm not so busy. The story's actually almost finished (only a few chapters left!) So anyways, thanks for sticking with me this far. Hope you enjoy the next chapter :D_**

 **-WINN-**

Winn normally didn't listen in on Kara's conversations through her ear piece, but this morning he had decided to, given that it was his father they were dealing with again. But after listening to their small exchange, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Would his father ever give it a rest? First he was jeopardizing the whole city, and now he was targeting Kara's family. _But how does he know about Kara's mom?_ Winn thought in his head, starting to feel defeated. _NO_! he then reminded himself. _Don't give up yet. As long as Kara's around, we all have hope._

He then diverted his attention back to the conversation between Supergirl and his dad on the ear speakers.

"How do I know you're not bluffing?" he heard Kara say between deep, ragged breaths.

"Have I ever bluffed before?" said his father. Kara was silent.

"Exactly. Now, in order to save her, I have some conditions we must agree on. And to make it more in your favor, I'll even answer a question for you, one I'm sure you've been trying to figure out for days."

Winn could feel his curiosity spiking. Were they finally going to get an answer to one of their endless questions?

"All right," Kara finally responded after several seconds. "What are your 'conditions' I must agree on?"

"First, turn off your communication device."

Winn started shaking his head, feeling as though this was going to be a bad idea. If Kara turned off her speaker, who knew what his father could do? Plus, he also wanted to hear their conversation, and hear the answer his father was going to give Kara in response to the one of many questions they had.

"Kara, don't do it!" he immediately said to her. "We can make some sort of plan, or-"

"Winn," she cut him off midsentence. "This might be the only way." He then heard her voice soften as she said, "I appreciate your concern, but I can handle this. Trust me." And then she turned off the communication device.

"Kara-!" Winn called again but it was too late. All he could hear in return was static. His first thought was to go and find Kara and his father in person, to see if he could try to help, but then he immediately dismissed the idea, realizing it would only cause more trouble and be one more thing for Kara to have to deal with. His second thought was to try and activate Kara's ear speaker again, but after a few minutes of trying he stopped, realizing he just needed to trust that Kara could handle the situation.

Winn sighed and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was just a little past seven o'clock in the morning. He sighed once more, and stood up to get ready for work. In all the excitement he had momentarily forgotten he had another job to do.

After eating a quick breakfast and getting dressed, Winn waited by his tablet for as long as he could before he had to leave, all the while growing more and more worried. Was Kara okay? Why hadn't she contacted him yet? Was her mom okay? What was so secret that his father wanted to tell Kara that he made her turn off her speaker? Finally after waiting for almost a whole hour, Winn left Kara's apartment and hurried as quick as he could to CatCo, where he set up his tablet again and tried - unsuccessfully - to reach Kara.

 _Trust her_ , he told himself, and kept repeating it over and over until it became a constant chorus in his mind, reassuring him of all the doubts he had concerning both Kara and his father.

It was around lunch time when Winn saw James coming up from his department downstairs. "James!" Winn called, motioning for him to come closer. James walked over and gave him a smile. "Hey, what's up?" he greeted.

"Its Kara - she's been missing since this morning, and-"

"Wait, she's been _missing_?" James interrupted. "But I just saw her about thirty minutes ago, talking to some of the CatCo executives."

Winn opened his mouth and then closed it, not knowing how to respond. "Wait, she's...here?" he finally said.

"Yeah, I said, 'Morning Kara!' and she smiled and waved at me, and I continued on my way."

"But..." Winn trailed off. _Why hasn't she talked to me yet?_ he thought, growing more perplexed by the minute.

"But what?" James echoed him after a few seconds of silence.

"Was she hurt? Did she seem different or something?" Winn asked, a black worm of dread working it's way into his chest. What if his father wiped her memory? Or something worse?

James shook his head, looking almost as confused as Winn felt. "She looked a little tired, but I don't know. I don't know her as well as you do." He paused a moment before saying, "Winn, I don't understand. What's wrong with Kara?"

"I'll tell you later - I promise," was all Winn said before hurrying towards the stairs, determined to find his friend.

It turned out to be a lot easier than Winn had suspected, for he found her just across the hallway on the floor beneath Cat's office. She was studying the cover of a new magazine Cat was going to release, but Winn could tell something was wrong just from her body language. Her eyes were boring into the picture, as though she had never seen the pattern of colors that it was displaying, and her back was too straight and rigid, unlike her normal relaxed posture.

"Kara!" Winn called, his tone laced with concern. He had expected Kara to turn around and give him the small smile she always gave him, but instead her whole body went stiff and she turned away from him, as though suddenly scared.

"Kara?" Winn called out again, only this time more uncertain. Why was she avoiding him? He couldn't figure it out, so instead he quickened his pace until he caught up to her and grabbed her arm, making her stop and face him.

Winn put a gentle hand on her shoulder, trying to show her some comfort, put she shook it off. The small motion felt like a slap in the face to Winn. "Kara. What. Happened." Winn said, articulating each word very clearly.

Kara wouldn't meet his eyes. She looked down at her feet and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Finally, after several terse seconds, she brought her head up and looked him right in the eye. He was shocked to see all the hurt and anger that clouded over her face.

"He was bluffing about bluffing. He was trying to scare me by pretending to put my family in danger," she mumbled.

Winn wasn't following. "What?" he asked.

"It turns out the threat about my foster mom was just a bluff after all. I went and saw her and she's safe. He just said it to make me worry, and to make me think he had valuable information," said Kara again, only this time with more clarity.

Winn felt like smiling and exclaiming, "That's great! She's safe!" but something in Kara's stony demeanor kept him from rejoicing quite yet.

"What did he need from you?" Winn asked in a half whisper, as though talking loudly would make Kara even more angry than she already looked.

"I'm sure you already know."

Winn frowned, confused. Of course he didn't know! Why was Kara suddenly acting as if Winn was the bad guy? He hadn't done anything like his father had.

"He needed a sample of my blood," Kara said after Winn didn't respond. Winn's mouth opened in surprise. "He needs it for the kryptonite, doesn't he?" The pieces all seemed to be coming together now. His father needed the blood sample in order to make sure the kryptonite would work effectively against Kara. "Did you give it to him?" he asked, but he felt he already knew the answer. Kara nodding confirmed the sinking feeling in his gut. Now his dad could defeat Kara. How were they going to stop him?

"What about the one answer he was going to give you? The one he kept gloating about?"

Kara suddenly averted her eyes again, and Winn was surprised to see tears forming in them. "He told me the truth. About how he knows all about my family and my secrets."

"He knows _everything_ about you?" Winn asked, trying not to think of how much the odds were against them.

"I never did tell you that he knew all my secrets. I didn't want to worry you, but now I see it was all an act. You really are a great actor Winn; I really fell for it."

" _What are you talking about?_ " Winn nearly shouted at her. She was making no sense! _What_ was he acting at?

"He told me _you_ gave him the information."

Her sentence hung in the air between them. Winn couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening. "You actually _believed_ him?" Winn finally asked, breaking the silence. "How could I have even given him information? I barely talked to him when he kidnapped me!"

"I didn't believe it either at first, but then he showed me the proof. I guess when you saved that information Maxwell Lord stole from the DEO to your phone, I thought you were trying to protect it, but it turns out you were planning to send it to your father all along."

"But I didn't send it to him! It's still on my phone upstairs, and-"

"It's the exact same document you saved to your phone Winn. And you even sent him the message about how you were 'Finally living up to your family name,' and that you could 'get information from me to make the job easier.' I even let you stay in my apartment, thinking you would be safer with me! But you were never in danger, were you? You knew your father's plan the whole time, and..." a tear slipped down Kara's cheek. "I...I thought you actually cared for me, but it seems like I was wrong. I was just a pawn in your twisted game you have going with your father."

Winn was a statue, not believing this was actually happening. " _Kara_ ," Winn said, putting as much emotion in his voice as he could. "I would _never_ betray you! You're my best friend and...I really _do_ care about you. A whole lot, and I've been meaning to tell you just how much..." As he trailed off, Winn could feel his confidence leaving him. He had imagined numerous different scenarios in which he would tell Kara how he felt about her, but he had never imagined it would happen this way. He wanted to tell her when she was happy; when her smile was so bright it could light up all of National City, and when he was absolutely sure she felt the same way about him.

But now, staring at her hurt filled eyes and tear streaked face, he realized that telling her that he was in love with her was only going to make matters worse.

"Listen Kara, whatever my father said, it wasn't true, and I'm going to prove it to you even if it's the last thing I do. I promise." Winn looked her dead in the eyes to let her know he was serious, and then he quickly walked upstairs to his desk where he had left his phone. Sure enough, when he checked his phone he found that the DEO document had been taken.

Winn suddenly felt like screaming every obscenity he knew at his father, but he managed to hold it all in as he took calming, deep breaths. Kara had fallen right into his father's trap. He had managed to trick her and convince her that Winn was the villain. His father had taken so many things from his life, he wasn't going to let him take Kara, too.

·······

Winn waited by the side of the CatCo building, watching the people on the streets as they walked by. Some people were casually strolling down the sidewalk, as though they had all the time in the world, whereas others were hurrying, clutching briefcases or other items to their chests as they quickly maneuvered their way through the crowds. Winn wished he could be like one of these people. That he could be just coming home from work after another busy day, not having to worry about mental, psychotic fathers or the fact that his best friend - who also happened to be the girl he loved - now thought that he betrayed her and had turned evil.

His mind was so preoccupied on how he was supposed fix the mess, that he almost missed seeing the sudden streak of light in the sky that came from the CatCo building. _Kara_ , he thought. _I should've known she would fly home_.

Winn had been hoping to catch Kara as she left and try to talk to her again - convince her he was on her side - but it was only then he remembered that Kara preferred to fly when stressed or upset. Plus, the only reason she had been walking home the past few days was so she could walk with him.

Sighing, Winn moved from his spot at the side of the large building and started off to Kara's apartment. She would probably circle the city a few times before actually going back to her apartment, so Winn figured they would arrive at around the same time.

The whole way there he focused on putting one foot in front of the other, not letting his mind wander to all the different scenarios the conversation with Kara could end up like. After what only seemed like a few seconds, Winn's feet had led him up the familiar path to Kara's apartment door. He waited a few moments before he lifted his hand and gave a loud, single knock. The sound seemed to resonate in the empty hallway, where it heightened Winn's nerves and made his heart beat faster. But after almost a whole minute of silence, no answer came. Winn put his ear to the door and listened hard. No sound at all. He then looked at the cracks in the door and determined no lights were on either. Kara wasn't home yet.

Winn figured she must still be flying around the city, or else she had found a crime to stop, so he sat down on the ground outside her door and waited. He didn't know how long he waited, but eventually he heard a slight _whoosh_ and then the sound of feet landing from inside the apartment. Winn hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should make a move yet. Should he wait until she was settled in before he knocked, or should he do it now and get it over with? While Winn was debating this, he continued to listen to the sounds from inside the apartment. It sounded like Kara was grabbing dishes from the cupboard. Then came the unmistakable sound on the faucet running, and then a click and a static-like buzz letting Winn know the TV had turned on. Winn figured he should move pretty soon. If Kara glanced his way, she would be able to see him with her supervision, and then probably proceed to believe he was trying to spy on her or do more dirty work for his father.

But just as he was standing up, he heard another noise - one that made his heart freeze in place. It was a small click, followed by a hiss of air, a cry of pain, a loud thud, and then a laugh. A spine crawling laugh that belonged to only one person Winn knew of. Without a second thought, Winn threw himself against the door, using every part of his body to try and knock it down. He rammed against the door again and again, not caring at how many bruises he was going to have in the morning, until finally, with one final kick resulting in a throbbing foot, Winn managed to break a part of the door down. Winn jumped through the gap in the door and took in the sight before him. Kara was lying motionless on the ground, still in her Supergirl suit, with a large green crystal sticking out of her chest. _Kryptonite_ , was the only thing Winn's thoughts could conjure up before his attention was drawn to the man standing beside her, a lethal looking gun poised in his hands. His father smiled at Winn. "I must say, I didn't expect you to be right outside her apartment. Congratulations on breaking down the door, though. It didn't take you as long as I thought it might."

Winn could barely stand to look in his father's eyes, the ones that so closely mirrored his own, so instead he looked down at Kara, his heart seizing at the contorted expression on her face. Winn took a step closer to Kara, waiting to see if his father would stop him. His father merely stared, an amused expression alight on his face. Winn then crouched next to Kara, and gently put a finger on the pulse in her neck. It was still faintly beating. Winn took a breath of relief, and then looked back up at his father, his mind trying to figure out what to do next.

"So, you've discovered how to make Kryptonite. Now what are you planning to do with Supergirl?" he asked, trying to stall until he came up with a plan. His phone was in his back pocket, but how could he get to it without his dad noticing?

"Hmmm, that is an interesting question. Maybe I'll keep her with me, like one keeps a collector's item." He smiled. "A life-sized collectors' doll."

Hearing his father say those words made Winn feel sick to his stomach, so he kept quiet, continuing to try and find an escape route.

"Of course, I'll keep her in my custody until my plan is complete; until those who deserve punishment have paid it." Winn faintly remembered back to when he was in the warehouse with his father, and how his father had been telling Winn how he had planned to get revenge on the people he had met in jail. Winn didn't know who these people were, but he knew that if no one stopped his father, they would soon be dead.

"And after my revenge is complete? Well, just imagine the possibilities with Supergirl gone!" the Toyman kept speaking. "I'll be able to make as many toys and mischief as I want without having to constantly check behind my back to see if Supergirl is there. I think I did this whole city a favor, in my opinion."

"You're wrong," Winn immediately shot back, finally standing up in a sudden spurt of anger. "Supergirl is the best thing that ever happened to this city. And if you think you're going to get away with all of this, then you're sorely mistaken."

His father sighed and adjusted the weapon in his arms. "What a pity. And here I was hoping you might actually join me. You know, I do hate having to keep hurting you, Winslow. But sometimes you just leave me no choice."

And before Winn could react - before he could even blink - his father had swung his kryptonite gun around and hit Winn in the back of the head, making everything go black.


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for disappearing for so long, but I swear that won't happen again! I'm just about wrapped up with this story (only 1 more chapter after this!) and I just wanted to thank everyone again for sticking with me and this story and giving such encouraging reviews - they really mean a lot :D So please read and tell me what you think!**_

- **KARA** -

Kara jolted awake, a searing pain slicing through her chest. She gasped for breath, but quickly found out that breathing multiplied the pain immensely. She tried to open her eyes, but felt her head spinning and her stomach turning, so she decided to keep them shut. Instead, Kara sorted through her foggy memories, trying to think of what had happened.

She had been upset - that much she remembered. But why? She forced her brain to think, although her head was now pounding ferociously.

Her apartment! She remembered flying in through the window, and getting a glass of water. But then something else had happened. There had been a person with a gun, and then she had seen a large crystal sticking out of her chest, and a shout, from somewhere that had seemed far away at the time...

Winn! That's who she was mad at, and that's who had shouted when she fell to the floor. But why was he there?

Suddenly all her thoughts came flooding back to her, and the dull ache that formed in her stomach had nothing to do with the deadly crystal near her.

Winn had betrayed her. That's why she was upset in the first place. _But why_? Kara still had trouble processing the fact. After her flight around the city, she had thought long and hard about Winn's words and actions. What he said and what his father said didn't match up. The question was, though: who was she to believe?

Winn's father had credible evidence, but Winn had been her friend for so long. Would he really lie to her like that?

 _Winn's a terrible liar, he would never be able to pull off a complex crime like his father's,_ she managed to think despite her murky brain.

After a few seconds of concentrating carefully on breathing as to not put herself in any more pain, Kara was able to slowly open her eyes and take in her surroundings.

As the initial flare of pain subsided in her head, Kara's eyes adjusted to the light that was encircling her. She was thankful to see that the large kryptonite crystal was no longer sticking out of her chest (although it still felt like it was), but disheartened at the sight of the thousands of crystals surrounding her, stacked up in mounds like sand at the beach. It also didn't help that her bonds were made entirely of kryptonite, too.

 _No wonder I'm in so much agony,_ Kara thought sourly, and tried to shift position. Almost immediately she regretted the action, as it caused her kryptonite bonds to dig deeper into her wrists and resulted in a small pile of crystals to tumble into her lap, causing her legs to suddenly ache with pain too.

Kara tried to let out a frustrated sigh, but even that small of an action hurt too much. She was just about to try moving again - maybe even try standing up this time, no matter how much it hurt- when a voice from behind her caught her off guard.

"Kara?" It was barely a whisper, but Kara knew who it belonged to.

"Winn?" She managed to respond, her voice laced with the torment she felt. "What are you doing here?"

"My father..." he mumbled . "Knocked me out and tied me up." There was a pause. "Are you okay?"

Kara gave a dry laugh. "Never better." She slowly shifted again, and this time was successful in turning around slightly. Now she could see Winn out of the corner of her eye. "Why did your father kidnap you? I thought you were working together."

Winn was silent for a long time, and Kara began to regret the harsh tone in which she had delivered her words. Finally he said, "I'm sorry, Kara. I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess, I'm sorry you've been hurt by my dad, and I'm sorry that you think I betrayed you, because I swear to you Kara, I would _never_ hurt you like that." His voice cracked with emotion on the last word.

Kara wasn't sure how to respond, so she shifted again so she was able to look at Winn clearly, and let out a stifled gasp. Even in the dim light of the kryptonite surrounding her, she could see a large bruise forming from the top of his forehead down the length of his cheekbone. His hands were tied up above his head with chains, and she could see the raw skin on his wrists where his bonds had rubbed too tightly.

Why would his father do this to him? The only answer that came to Kara's mind was that Winn had been telling the truth the whole time, and that she had been deceived by his father's lies.

She was too weak and tired to try and suppress the tears that sprung to her eyes when she thought of how big a mistake she had made. She should've known Winn would never betray her. She was his best friend; she was supposed to be the person who knew him best. _She_ was the one who had betrayed his trust.

"Kara..." she could hear Winn say. "Kara, what's wrong? Is it the kryptonite?" His voice sounded so concerned about her, despite everything she put him through.

 _What did I do to deserve a friend like Winn?_ she thought, before opening her mouth to answer him. "No, it's...it's not the kryptonite, although it does hurt. I just-" her voice wavered then broke, unleashing a new spring of tears that ran down her face. "It's not you who should be sorry, Winn. I'm sorry. I'm- I'm so so _so_ sorry. I-I didn't believe you and I doubted you and I must be the worst person ever right now, and I hurt you and this is all my fault-" she stopped to take a breath, and Winn quickly interrupted her.

"Kara, stop!" She turned her head to look at him, the large bruise on his face only reminding her of her mistake and deepening her guilt. How would she ever get him out of this situation? How would she ever get _herself_ out?

"Kara, first of all, this isn't your fault," Winn said, almost as though he could read her thoughts. "It's my father's; he's to blame. And secondly, although I'll admit I was hurt by your words, nothing could ever stop me from loving you."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he froze, eyes wide. Kara was amazed at how the simple phrase could send her heart pounding against her rib cage and her mind buzzing. _He loves me_? she asked herself over and over, and was surprised at the feeling of warmth that started to spread throughout her body, almost dulling the insistent pain of the kryptonite. It was silly, given their predicament, that his words had her behaving like a teenage girl again, but she couldn't help the strange, enticing emotion that suddenly seized her heart when his words replayed in her head. She remembered back to what Alex had said to her, about how she was so blind, and now she understood what she was referring to. Everything Winn had ever done for her, all the times he helped her, made her laugh, shown her he cared - it was because he loved her.

"But - but why would you love me?" Kara found herself saying. "After everything I've done to you..." She felt a worm of dread snake through her body at the thought of what she had done to him, and how it could've affected his feelings towards her.

"Kara," Winn's voice was small, just above a whisper. "I love you for everything you've done, good and bad. No one's perfect. One hurtful word or action isn't going to erase what I feel for you," he paused, and looked down almost shyly before continuing. "I love you for your spirit, your generosity, your bravery, your hope, your love for others. I love the smile that lights up your face when you see your family. I love the way you try so hard to please Cat and do well at your job. I love how you never let anyone stop you from doing what is right. I even love the way you love pot-stickers and cheese pizza."

Kara, who had been silently listening to his impromptu speech, heart swelling with emotion, couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that.

Winn smiled. "And I especially love your laugh, and all the other little quirks that make you _you_. You may not see it Kara, but to me, you're one of the best people I know, and have a heart full of compassion and love, and I think you deserve all the happiness in the world."

Kara opened her mouth to respond, but found herself speechless. Winn, her best friend, just confessed his love to her, and she felt... _happy._ She felt happy that he loved her, because...did she dare think it?

 _I love him too._

The realization wasn't as sudden as she thought, as Kara began to realize she had always loved him - the knowledge of it only now appearing. She loved the way he tried to be optimistic about almost every situation, the way he could always make her laugh, and the way he laughed at himself whenever he made a joke or pun that was anything but funny. She loved his loyalty to the people he cared about, his determination to prove people of his worth, and his bravery to stand up to people like his father. She even loved his nerdy fascination with sci-fi movies and aliens, and the fact that he was very proud of his "mad sewing skills."

But as Kara opened her mouth to tell him all of this, a loud squeak of a door opening echoed through the room, shortly followed by approaching footsteps.

Kara had her back to the door, but she didn't need to turn around to know it was Winn's father. Plus, moving still felt like being run over by a truck, and she didn't want him to see how much pain she was in.

"How nice it is to see you both awake." Kara was amazed at how much she could come to loath a voice. For Winn, it must've been even worse though. She could see the way his eyes hardened with hatred as his father drew nearing, clearly enjoying the situation.

"Aren't you proud of me? I successfully recreated kryptonite - a task no human has ever done before!" He boasted, his legs finally entering Kara's peripheral vision.

"You may have lots of knowledge, but it's a shame you have no wisdom or common sense," Kara managed to say through gritted teeth. He was probably only coming toward them to elaborate on his evil plan in classic, villain cliche style, and then see if they could try and stop him somehow. For some reason this only irritated Kara further; he was always taunting them and throwing new surprises at them. For once _she_ would like to be the one who had the element of surprise, and give him a dose of his own medicine.

The Toyman chuckled at her retort. "I find your insults quite amusing, but I'm afraid you're mistaken. I _do_ have common sense, which is why I came here just now to make sure you were still locked up and not escaping."

He was now standing directly in front of Kara, his eyes boring into her face. "Are you in pain, my dear?" he asked, his voice dripping with false empathy. Kara forced herself to stare back into his eyes - the ones that mirrored Winn's - and made her best deadpan expression, not saying a word.

"I see..." Winn's father said, and reached out a hand as though to caress her face when Winn shouted, "Don't you dare touch her!"

His father's hand froze, hovering inches next to Kara's cheek, and slowly he recoiled and turned around.

"Winn, Winn, Winn." He clicked his tongue. "How is it after all these years, you still manage to disappoint me?"

Now it was Winn's turn to stay silent.

The Toyman sighed. "Well, since no one seems in the mood to talk today, I guess I'll just leave and accomplish my next task. But first," he reached over and tightened the cuffs around Winn's wrists. Winn let out a strangled cry of pain, and Kara felt her blood boil. "Stop it, you monster!" she couldn't help but shout.

To her surprise, he actually stopped, but then he turned around and pulled a large bag out of a small cupboard by the doorway, something Kara had missed when she first looked around the room. But as soon as she caught sight of the bag, she felt like vomiting. She knew even before he opened the bag that there was Kryptonite inside. It was almost as though the crystal was overloading all of her senses; she could feel, smell, even _taste_ it.

And then he poured all the crystals on her lap, and the pain was more than she could comprehend. The last thing she remembered was Winn's father leaving the room, and Winn's broken face as he cried out her name before everything was dark.

·······

Kara awoke to the sound of Winn's voice. At first she couldn't understand what he was doing, but the more she listened she realized that he was simply just talking. She couldn't quite open her eyes yet, but she listened to him as her other senses started to revive as well. He was telling a story of some sort, his voice strained from the pain he was obviously feeling. For a second Kara worried that the stress of everything that had happened had broken him, and that he was just talking to himself, possibly going insane. But then she realized that he kept saying her name, and that he was taking to _her._ He had been trying to wake her up.

Kara tried to open her mouth to speak to Winn, but all that came out was a strange moan. After a few more minutes she tried again, and was successful at forming a sentence. "Are you okay?" she managed to ask.

She heard Winn let out a breath of what she assumed was relief. "Am _I_ okay? Kara, are _you_ okay? I thought...I thought you were dead!"

"I feel like I am," she admitted. It took her a while to regain her thoughts and senses, but finally she was able to sit up and open her eyes. The room still looked exactly the same, except for more green light from the added amount of kryptonite.

"How long have I been out?" she asked, dreading the answer. It could've been a whole day for all she knew.

"About half an hour. I could tell you were fighting the kryptonite the whole time," he answered.

"How?"

"Your eyes kept twitching."

A laugh escaped her chapped lips. "Good to know." She glanced Winn's way to see him also looking at her, his face a mix of emotions. Her heart hurt seeing him so sad, and in so much pain. "We have to find a way out of here," she declared.

"How? I've been trying to figure it out, but I can't see anyway we can escape without help."

Kara thought for a moment, surveying their options in the room. Both of them were chained, and there was no key lying about so it was unlikely that they could free themselves. The door was closed shut and locked, but they wouldn't be able to leave even if it was wide open, due to the unfortunate fact that they couldn't move. There was a cupboard on the wall close to the door that Winn's father had retrieved more kryptonite out of. Even though her powers were practically non-existent at the moment, Kara could feel that there was nothing in their besides more kryptonite.

"Any ideas?" Winn's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She couldn't help but give a defeated sigh as she told him no. She _hated_ feeling helpless, feeling useless, and she didn't want to give the Toyman the satisfaction of having defeated Supergirl, but she couldn't think of what to do.

"I'm sorry Winn. Without my powers, I'm nothing," she said a few seconds later after he didn't respond.

She could see Winn shake his head. "Kara, please. _You are not useless_. You don't need powers to be good, helpful person. You already are that type of person; your powers just enhance those qualities. Surely you know that. Now, we _are_ going to find a way out of here, powers are not. We can't let my dad win."

Kara gave him a grateful smile, and felt her heart swell with love for what seemed like the hundredth time just within that day. When they got out, she was going to make sure Winn knew how he made her feel. At the moment though, they were both preoccupied in searching for something they might've missed, and after several minutes Kara, after spending many moments thinking, feeling, and listening, gave a gasp of triumph.

"Winn, can you shift so that you're facing the wall behind you? There's a bit of plaster missing on a spot behind your head, and I can see some electrical wires." Winn did as she told him to, albeit slowly. "Now what?" he asked.

"Can you use your elbow to make the whole bigger? Maybe we can somehow sever the wire and make the power go out."

Winn gave her an incredulous glance. "What good would that do us? The lights are already off in here, Kara!"

Kara nodded. "Yes, I know, but do you know what building we're in, Winn?"

Winn paused. "Well, I know it's not the same warehouse I was in as before..."

"I'm pretty sure I know, cause I've been here before. I just didn't realize it until a few minutes ago. Winn, _we're in the National City power plant!_ "

Winn didn't respond immediately. "You've been here before?" was all he asked.

"Well, not in this room exactly, but a few months ago when the city's power went out, I came here to see if I could help with anything and I saw the whole building with my supervision, and I recognize the style of these rooms!"

Winn was silent a moment before saying, "Alright, I trust you, but how is cutting the power going to help us?"

"Well, we might be running on luck this time," Kara admitted. "We're going to have to rely on others to save us. If we cut those cords, hopefully it will cut the power from some part in town, and someone will have to come here and fix it, right? Then they'll find us and help us escape."

Even as she said it, Kara knew the plan was weak, but it was their only option at the moment. She looked over to Winn and saw him nod resolutely, and begin to work on the hole in the wall. Within a few minutes and a bruised elbow from Winn, the hole was big enough to see all the wires. The wires all connected to the main power source at the top of the plant, so with some luck, it would sever the power to quite a few areas in town.

Kara held her breath as she watched Winn hook the tip of elbow around a few loose wires and yank them away from the wall. As she watched she started to realize just how dangerous it probably was and began to worry about the possibility of Winn getting electrocuted when two wires snapped and sparked. The two of them gasped in unison, and then breathed out a sigh of relief. It worked so far. Winn continued to snap as many wires as he could until no more were within reach. Now all they had to do was wait and pray for the best.

·······

Kara could scarcely believe it when her plan worked. Fifteen minutes after Winn had ripped the wires, an electrician showed up and found them. The poor lady was terribly confused when she saw them, but wasted no time in setting them free. As soon as Kara was rid of the kryptonite surrounding her, she ran to Winn, who was still stuck in his metal bonds, and gently ripped them off his battered wrists.

"Are you okay?" Kara asked, concern taking over her features once again. She gently cupped his face and stared intently into his eyes. She loved him so much. She didn't know how she couldn't have seen it before. And from the way he was looking at her, she knew for a fact that Winn meant everything he said about her earlier, and that he truly did love her with everything he had.

For a fleeting moment, Kara forgot all about everything going on around them and the threats that they had to stop. All she wanted to do was to close the gap between them, to discover what the feel of his lips felt like against hers. But as she moved closer Winn suddenly said, "Supergirl, I think you need to go."

Kara felt as though she had been jolted out of a dream as she slowly fell back and stood up. She was suddenly aware that the technician was still watching them, looking as though she had discovered her new favorite soap opera. Looking back at Winn, she saw he looked how she felt: a bit disappointed, but hopeful. She couldn't help but smile. "Of course, you're right," she said and then asked him where he thought his father might've gone. Since the Toyman wanted to get revenge on those who supposedly wronged him, he would most likely visit their homes. Luckily Winn knew just were these people were located. He gave Kara directions as the technician called the police in the other room, and right before she flew off, he gave her a quick smile and a squeeze of her hand. Kara found it amazing that these small actions made her feel like she was soaring when her feet hadn't even left the ground.

A few minutes later, Kara found the infamous Toyman approaching the house of his first victim on the outskirts of National City. She couldn't help but smirk when she saw his shocked expression.

He tried to flee, but Kara swooped down and swiftly tied him up. Police sirens could be heard coming towards them, and it was in that moment that Winn's father knew he had lost. "But- how- I-" he stuttered.

She couldn't help but say, "Finally, I'm the one who gets to surprise _you._ "

The look of loathing and defeat on his face only made her smile wider.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: I can't believe it's been a year and four months ago that I started this fic! I just want to thank everyone so so SO much for all the lovely encouraging reviews I've gotten, and say that it's because of all of you that I was able to write this. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it! Winn and Kara will always have a special place in my heart :)**_

- **WINN** -

Winn had always wanted to be noticed at CatCo, but after the whole ordeal with his father, he wished he could be invisible again. News had gotten out that the Toyman, aka Winslow Schott Sr., had been arrested once again, and that Supergirl had been the one to capture him. Now, no longer did people know him as just 'the IT guy,' but as 'the Toyman's son.' He _really_ wished it could back to how it was before.

It had been exactly three days since he and Kara had been tied up in the power plant, and today was his first day back. James welcomed him whole heartedly, and informed him that he had covered for Winn while he was gone. Winn couldn't have been more thankful and relieved. Even Cat Grant welcomed him back, but then scolded him for keeping such an "interesting secret," as she had put it. The only person Winn hadn't seen yet was Kara. He had seen her while he was in the hospital the day after his father had been arrested, getting treated for his bruises and blistered wrists, but since then she hadn't stopped by, which disheartened him. He had thought she cared for him; maybe she didn't care as much as he thought?

Just as he was thinking this, however, he came to his desk and found a note stuck to his computer monitor. He recognized the handwriting immediately (Kara's), but all the note said was, ' _Meet me on the roof._ '

Winn was so intrigued at what Kara had to say he didn't even groan at the fact that it was on the roof again.

Within a few seconds he climbed the stairs and walked onto the roof and saw Kara standing near the center, pacing almost nervously. His heart started pounding. What was she going to say? Was it bad news? Did something happen? Did his father escape _again_?

As soon as she caught sight of him though, she stopped walking and smiled at him. Winn returned the smile as he approached her.

"Winn! How are you?" Kara greeted rather formally, standing at least a foot away from him.

"Getting better," Winn responded, gesturing to the bruise on his cheek that was now a lovely plum color. "Uh, where have you been lately?" Winn then asked, feeling his heart sink. He hated how awkward this felt. Obviously she had something to tell him, and he wished she would just say it already. With each second that went by, he was feeling more and more anxious.

"Um, you know...around." She diverted her eyes from his face and stared at his feet.

"I see," was all he said. Another silence passed. Finally Winn said, "Kara, what's wrong?"

Kara gave a laugh. "Actually, there's nothing wrong at all. I'm just..." She gave another laugh. "I guess - I'm just nervous."

Winn felt puzzled. Kara wasn't often nervous around anyone except Cat, much less him.

"I felt meeting up here was kinda fitting, since the last time we we're on the roof, I told you the secret I had, that I was Supergirl, and now-" she finally looked up at him and smiled. "I have something else I need to tell you."

As Winn watched her, he slowly put the pieces together. It was evident that Kara returned his feelings to some extent - she _had_ almost kissed him the other day - but she had never directly told him how she felt. Was she going to now, after all the waiting and dreaming Winn had done of this very moment? He waited with bated breath as she continued talking.

"Winn, over the past few days - no, weeks really, - I've come to realize just how much you mean to me. You've - you've always been there for me, and you gave me hope when it should have been me giving you hope instead." She gave a small laugh and fidgeted with her glasses. "And the other day when you told me you loved me, I realized just how happy that made me, and I realized- I, I realized..." She looked up at him and Winn could see the happiness blooming on her face, an expression that was probably mirrored on his own. His dream was _actually_ coming true. He couldn't help but let a wide grin cover his face as Kara slowly took another step towards him.

"Winn, what I wanted to say was...I love you too."

The words were barely out of her mouth when Winn moved forward and pressed his lips against hers. Kissing Kara Danvers was better than anything he had ever come up with in his fantasies. Her lips were soft against his, light and smooth yet also firm as she kissed him back with enthusiasm. Her hand came up to cup the back of his neck and her fingers slowly wound through his hair as he encircled his arms around her waist. Finally, after some of the most glorious seconds of Winn's life, they both simultaneously pulled back and rested their foreheads against each other, smiling as the wind whipped through their clothes and hair.

"I love you, so, so much," Kara whispered to him, a smile once again lighting up her face. Winn still couldn't believe that his best friend, this amazing, selfless, literal Supergirl loved him, and all he could do was kiss her again, feeling as though for once in his life, things were as they should be.

Everything around them was forgotten - the rooftop, the city, the Toyman, all the trials and disagreements they had ever been through - for all there was was each other, and for the moment that was the only thing that mattered.

 _ **Thank you again! I love you all :D**_

- **Amelia**


End file.
